Trump expected to sign executive order making English the official US language
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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign a historic executive order designating English as the United States’ official language, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
The order marks the first time the country has ever had a national language.
The executive order rescinds a Clinton-era mandate that required agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide extensive language assistance to non-English speakers. Under the new order, agencies will have the flexibility to decide how and when to offer services in languages other than English.
It’s not yet clear when Trump is expected to sign the executive order.
The move comes amid Trump’s crusade to curb government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. On his first day in office, the president signed an order directing federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts and later signed a follow-up order requiring federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI.
The White House is defending the action, saying that while hundreds of languages are spoken across the United States, English is the most widely used. Also, the White House maintains that establishing a national language unifies the country and its citizens.
“Establishing English as the official language promotes unity, establishes efficiency in government operations, and creates a pathway for civic engagement,” the White House wrote in a memo provided to ABC News.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates
(NEW YORK) — In his first appearance since the Justice Department moved to drop the case against him, New York City Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the end of what he called an “unnecessary ordeal.”
“As I said from the outset, I never broke the law, and I never would. I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor,” Adams said during a public address Tuesday. He did not take questions.
In a letter Monday night, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove instructed federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to drop the bribery case against Adams.
Adams pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment that accused him of accepting years of luxury travel gifts in exchange for, among other things, persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.
Addressing the public on Tuesday, Adams decried what he called “sensational and false claims” against him, despite the case’s dismissal not involving any proclamation of his innocence.
The directive from Bove made no assessment on the strength of the evidence against Adams.
Rather, Bove’s letter questioned the timing of when the charges were brought, suggesting the case was part of the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department.
Bove also said the case adversely affected Adams’ ability to help the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Federal prosecutors were instructed to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning it could come up again. However, Bove said nothing could happen until after this year’s mayoral election.
Addressing New Yorkers on Tuesday, Adams denied ever committing a crime and touted his record as mayor.
“I never asked anyone to break the law on my behalf or on behalf of my campaign — never — and I absolutely never traded my power as an elected official for any personal benefit,” he said.
Adams thanked the Justice Department for its “honesty.”
“Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city,” he said. “It’s time to move forward.”
Adams is the first New York City mayor to ever face criminal charges.
The dropping of the case comes after Adams has publicly cozied up to Trump, spending time with him at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and attending his inauguration.
Trump recently made comments in support of Adams, and has suggested he would “take a look” at pardoning him.
“I think that he was treated pretty unfairly,” Trump said regarding Adams during in a December press briefing.
(WASHINGTON) — Federal immigration authorities will be permitted to target schools and churches after President Donald Trump revoked a directive barring arrests in “sensitive” areas.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it would roll back the policy to “thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas.”
First enacted in 2011, the directive prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol officers from arresting suspected undocumented immigrants in a variety of locations.
Schools and houses of worship were deemed off-limits, as were hospitals, funerals, weddings and public demonstrations.
In a statement touting the move Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said law enforcement would use “common sense” in making arrests.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murders and rapists — who have illegally come into our country,” the spokesperson said.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the statement continued. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be FBI director.
The final vote was 51-49.
Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voted against Patel. Democrats were unanimous in their opposition.
Despite his controversial nomination, Republicans rallied around Patel, arguing he is the right person to bring reform to the nation’s top law enforcement agency they allege has been corrupted.
“Mr. Patel should be our next FBI director because the FBI has been infected by political bias and weaponized against the American people. Mr. Patel knows it, Mr. Patel exposed it, and Mr. Patel has been targeted for it,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said last week as the committee met to consider and advance his nomination.
Though not all GOP members backed him. Collins, explaining her decision to vote against his confirmation, said there is a need for an FBI director who is “decidedly apolitical” and Patel’s “time over the past four years has been characterized by high profile and aggressive political activity.”
Murkowski voiced similar concerns.
“My reservations with Mr. Patel stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership,” the senator said in a post on X. “The FBI must be trusted as the federal agency that roots out crime and corruption, not focused on settling political scores. I have been disappointed that when he had the opportunity to push back on the administration’s decision to force the FBI to provide a list of agents involved in the January 6 investigations and prosecutions, he failed to do so.”
Democrats, meanwhile, objected to Patel up until the last minute. Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, held a press conference outside FBI headquarters on Thursday morning railing against Patel’s “bizarre political statements” on Jan. 6 to retribution.
He accused Republicans of “willfully ignoring red flags on Mr. Patel,” who he argued has “neither the experience, the judgment or the temperament” to be FBI chief for the next 10 years.
“Mr. Patel will be a political and national security disaster,” Durbin said.
Patel, 44, is a loyalist to the president and worked in a number of roles during Trump’s first administration, including acting deputy director of national intelligence.
Shortly after the November election, Trump indicated he would fire then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and tap Patel to take his place. Wray, first appointed by Trump in 2017, stepped down at the end of the Biden administration.
Patel has been a vocal critic of the FBI for years, and previously said he wanted to clean out the bureau’s headquarters in Washington as part of a mission to dismantle the so-called “deep state.”
He faced pointed questions from Democrats on those comments and more — including support for Jan. 6 rioters and quotes that appeared favorable to the “QAnon” conspiracy movement — during his confirmation hearings last month.
Patel sought to distance from some of his past rhetoric, and told lawmakers he would take “no retributive actions” despite his history of comments about targeting journalists and government employees.
Patel will take over an agency facing uncertainty and turmoil amid firings and other key changes.
The Justice Department’s sought a list of potentially thousands of FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases, ABC News previously reported, prompting agents to file a lawsuit to block the effort.
