In the nearly 250 years since its founding, the United States has never had an official language.
White House officials said the order is meant to foster national unity and increase administrative efficiency.
According to the US Census Bureau, about 68 million of the 340 million people who live in the nation speak a language other than English, including more than 160 Native American languages.
A 2000 regulation signed by former President Bill Clinton that required government agencies and beneficiaries of federal assistance to “ensure that their programs and activities normally provided in English are accessible to LEP (low-English proficiency) persons” would be repealed by Friday’s presidential order.
White House officials said agencies will still be able to give non-English speakers access to that language.
