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US Senate

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The US Senate passed an amendment to the Immigration Law making English the official language of the United States in the summer of 2006. 162.249.54.23 (talk) 09:49, 19 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@162.249.54.23 Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! Can you provide a source for this, please? — gabldotink [ talk | contribs | global account ] 01:35, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Well, it's half true — the reference is to the Inhofe Amendment for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. See also Snopes.
The other half is that while the amendment was passed, the bill never became law. So there has never been a federal law making English the official language. Amberkitten (talk) 17:27, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Official Language Executive Order

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News outlets have stated that President Trump has planned to sign an executive order to make English the official language of the United States. This is to discuss how to adjust the page based on the official outcome Bammmyouuu (talk) 15:20, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Trump hasn't signed the order YET, but whenever he does, the topline should be edited immediately. I suppose The first two sentences could be completely removed to say something to the effect of "The official language of the United States is English," and then it would continue through the rest. Twinbros04 (talk) 15:26, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
WP:CRYSTAL BALL. We need to see what the actual EO says. No one has actually discussed the legal implications. I suspect that a federal law would be required to make it permanent; otherwise, we'll just be going back and forth between administrations revoking and reinstating EOs, which seems against the point of the "official language" designation. A note may be best if the EO does as described, or clarifying sentence may be best. See also: Talk:United States § English the Official language?. AG202 (talk) 18:50, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Also, I suspect that the EO would only actually apply to the Executive Branch's functions, which is only a part of the federal government. AG202 (talk) 18:54, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I do think a mention of the executive order should be made somewhwre, but as to whether or not it should be treated as the de-jure official language is in my opinion a matter of debate. That part might end up needing an RFC down the line. Hurricane Clyde 🌀my talk page! 20:48, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Exactly. But we still need to see the EO. AG202 (talk) 20:50, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Can someone fix the article since it’s locked? It says in the first paragraph, without citation, that it is “the de facto” national language. No EO was signed today and probably won’t be because of the disastrous meeting today. 2600:1700:9660:4AC0:3D0D:B78E:728B:26E2 (talk) 02:14, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
See de facto for the definition. English has been the de facto national language since the nation's founding, and will remain so regardless of any EO. CAVincent (talk) 03:06, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I agree. Should we start the RfC on this talk page or on Talk:United States? GN22 (talk) 16:48, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I’d personally say the location with higher traffic, but also the EO is still not out. AG202 (talk) 18:52, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The point is that if the EO designates English as the official language of the United States, the topline must be edited to say that. Twinbros04 (talk) 20:46, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Executive Orders are not law. They do not determine things for the whole country, they only determine policies for the Executive Branch and how it goes about its day-to-day. Even if the EO proclaims that "English is the official language", we'd still need to have an actual discussion as to what that means. I'd expect a de jure designation to be made by law (assuming no court appeals) or constitutional amendment. But again, that's for when the EO is actually out. It may end up being a nothing-burger compared to the high level of media attention going on right now. AG202 (talk) 20:50, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
You are wrong. Executive Orders are law. If the Executive Order proclaims English to be the official language, it is not the job of unqualified Wikipedians to argue over Trump's authority on this particular matter, which any credible source confirms to be within his power. Twinbros04 (talk) 20:56, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
No they are not. As stated by the Executive order article: they are "directives", "guiding agencies on how to interpret and implement congressionally-passed laws" (emphasis mine). They do not make law, and are often struck down in accordance with existing law. Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer made this exceedingly clear. AG202 (talk) 20:59, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
This is incorrect. The technical verbiage of a Wikipedia page doesn't mean that EOs are not law. Yes, EOs can be overturned. Laws can be overturned, too. See Marbury v. Madison for that. Twinbros04 (talk) 21:06, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Any such change would require a discussion. If nothing else, it is obvious that there is and will be dispute over whether an EO can make English "official" or the de jure national language. CAVincent (talk) 03:19, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I think it would be a good idea to start an RfC about this. Executive orders are not the same as laws and only apply to one branch of the federal government. My suggestion is to add "In 2025, Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the executive branch of the United States, but English is not the official language in the legislative and judicial branches." How we could list this is something along the lines of "Official language: None at the entire federal level (English in the executive branch)." GN22 (talk) 05:37, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Using that standard would open a huge can of worms with other things. 2604:2D80:6305:600:781D:AF4:C4F3:BCCA (talk) 07:51, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
When the order is both signed and its full text is released, if the text of the order in effect states that English is the official language of the United States, that should be reflected in this article. Executive orders do have rule of law. It is possible that it will be challenged and struck down, but that's CRYSTALBALL. — gabldotink [ talk | contribs | global account ] 21:55, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
This is WIkipedia. As an avid reader since the early days of the site, I can tell you with certainty that rule of law and authority are not respected by many of the top editors on this site. This site has a hard British bias followed by an upper middle class American bias. Anything that the current president does will be opposed by this site without exception. This is what you get when you try to create an encyclopedia that treats news organizations and international organizations as being no less credible than peer-reviewed and replicated scientific studies. 2604:2D80:6305:600:781D:AF4:C4F3:BCCA (talk) 08:01, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
No, an executive order is not a law. It is a policy of the executive branch of government. In the US, Congress is the legislative branch of government and would need to pass legislation in order to establish a law making English the official language of the USA. This article already has been updated to include the executive order and stating that it is Pres. Trump’s policy that English is the official language of the executive branch of government. However, that can be undone with the stroke of a pen in the next administration. An executive order is policy; it is not an established law.SeminarianJohn (talk) 19:19, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
According to the U.S. General Services Administration, the Official Language of the United States is English.
https://www.usa.gov/official-language-of-us 2600:1700:1D56:BFD0:3510:4C5D:476:8679 (talk) 03:07, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

English as official language

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On March 1, 2025, President Donald Trump has signed and published the executive order "Designating English as the Official Language of The United States". The full text is available here. This has been WP:BOLDly reflected in the article, but since it is likely to be challenged by some editors, I'm creating this request for comment to get consensus on how we should handle this.

The order plainly states that it makes no legal change except for rescinding Executive Order 13166; agencies are no longer required to provide services or documents in languages other than English, but are not directed to necessarily make any changes.

The order does designate English as the United States' official language, even if no changes to the legal code have been made. — gabldotink [ talk | contribs | global account ] 01:57, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Support because Johnny Roswell (talk) 11:57, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Double "vote", you've already put your comments below. AG202 (talk) 17:10, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support. The U.S. General Services Administration states that it is the official language.
https://www.usa.gov/official-language-of-us 2600:1700:1D56:BFD0:3510:4C5D:476:8679 (talk) 03:10, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I, the RfC creator, strongly support reflecting this in the article. The Official language article says "An official language is a language having certain rights to be used in defined situations. These rights can be created in written form or by historic usage." This clearly passes that test. — gabldotink [ talk | contribs | global account ] 01:59, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose 1. Donald Trump is not a reliable source. He is the author of the executive order. Therefore this Executive Order is not a reliable source for the claim that English is the official language of the US. WP:RS. 2. The Executive Order is a primary source, not a preferred type of source. WP:PRIMARY. 3. This is a recent development, and WP:RECENT applies. It is too soon to include it.
T g7 (talk) 03:52, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
While the EO itself is a primary source, many news outlets have released articles on this matter. I do agree that WP:RECENT does apply as this happened maybe 6 hours ago. Jake01756 (talk) (contribs) 05:28, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose and Comment I’m not sure that English is the official language of the entire federal government. Executive orders are not the same as legislation and only apply to one branch of the federal government. This EO in particular makes no legal change except for rescinding a Clinton-era EO. My suggestion is to add something like this: "In 2025, Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the executive branch of the United States, but English is not the official language in the legislative and judicial branches." How we could list this is something along the lines of "Official language: None at the entire federal level (English in the executive branch)."
The American Civil Liberties Union writes, "With an executive order, President Trump can order the federal government to take any steps that are within the scope…of the executive branch [emphasis mine]…the president can’t take over powers from other branches."[1] The president cannot order the legislative and judicial branches with an EO. So English has only been designated as the official language within the executive branch. If English were to become the official language of the entire US government, a law doing so would have to be passed and signed into law.
English is also not the de jure official language. De jure means "of the law", and executive orders are directives and not laws/legislation. GN22 (talk) 02:50, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
There’s also another RfC in Talk:United States#RFC: Is English the official language of the United States? GN22 (talk) 14:59, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Strong Support There is no reason to assume that English would not be the official language of the United States, especially when The Times, NPR, and Washington Post all refer to it as so. [1] [2] [3] Twinbros04 (talk) 03:45, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Not the official de jure language. De jure means "of the law", and executive orders are directives and not laws/legislation. GN22 (talk) 03:51, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Executive orders carry the weight of law and can have penalties up to including jail time. Quoting the American Bar Association, emphasis mine.

Both executive orders and proclamations have the force of law, much like regulations issued by federal agencies, so they are codified under Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the formal collection of all of the rules and regulations issued by the executive branch and other federal agencies.

Ergzay (talk) 07:14, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Strong Support as per all sources referring to English as the official language and as per Wikipedia's own definition of what an official language is. There's no evidence to suggest that Trump "doesn't have the authority" to do this. Talk about how a future Democratic president may rescind or change the order should be irrelevant here as per WP:CRYSTALBALL. Derpytoucan (talk) 03:53, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
1. Need reliable sources, not merely a multiplicity of sources. 2. Wikipedia definition is "An official language is a language having certain rights to be used in defined situations. These rights can be created in written form or by historic usage." This is an arguable point and could be elaborated. I would argue that the fact that the US has not had an official language was the result of intentional decisions not to make it the official language, because bills were proposed for this but never passed. 3. Whether Trump has the authority is an important question; we don't have the answer to that question, so we need to wait to see how different institutions react to the Executive Order before stating in Wikipedia voice that English is the official language. 4. Agree that it is irrelevant what a future president may or may not do. T g7 (talk) 04:50, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Wait. WP:RECENT. Same as my reply at Talk:United States § RFC: Is English the official language of the United States?. We should wait to see what reliable sources say after the coverage dies down. If they refer to English as the official language outside of explicit coverage about this EO, then we can re-evaluate. AG202 (talk) 04:20, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Strong support that English is now the official language of the country Johnny Roswell (talk) 05:54, 2 March 2025 (UTC) — Johnny Roswell (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. [reply]
Not by law, because executive orders are not laws. I think we should include a note about Trump’s executive order but also clarify that English is not the de jure official language. GN22 (talk) 06:42, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Got a guy with TDS over here… 🙄 47.195.117.223 (talk) 16:08, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It doesn't matter if the official language is by law like you are badgering this form about. From the Washington Post: "An official language is the language used by the government to “conduct official, day-to-day business." Twinbros04 (talk) 19:25, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Taking the Washington Post’s definition of "official language" into account, then Spanish would be the official language of Mexico and English would be the official language of the United Kingdom, even though neither of their articles state so. GN22 (talk) 23:51, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Executive orders carry more or less de jure power in the United States. That is how they are treated. Quoting the American Bar Association, emphasis mine.

Both executive orders and proclamations have the force of law, much like regulations issued by federal agencies, so they are codified under Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the formal collection of all of the rules and regulations issued by the executive branch and other federal agencies.

Ergzay (talk) 07:29, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Note: the above account (Johnny Roswell) seems to only have been made to participate in this discussion. AG202 (talk) 15:17, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support because America first and Trump’s the goat now that’s a straight up legit answer!!! Do you agree my bro? Johnny Roswell (talk) 12:00, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: On the RfC over at Talk:United States there are currently:
  • 2 votes to add English as the official language
  • 1 vote to not add it as the official language
  • 3 votes to write that the US has no de jure official language set by legislation and that English is the official language only in the executive branch
  • 9 votes to wait and see what reliable sources say (with one backing the choice immediately above as a second option).
GN22 (talk) 16:12, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support as official language, it's what reliable sources are using and that's what matters. Killuminator (talk) 16:51, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support changing the language to English R8cobra (talk) 17:47, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Strong Support as there are reliable sources that stated that the executive order established English as the official language. Adam McClure (talk) 20:03, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support Copying over most of the comment I made on the talk page of List of countries and territories where English is an official language. - There seems to be a lot of people interested in reverting any changes. I'm not sure why. The definition of "de jure" is defined as the laws and official policies of the country. Presidential executive orders are official policies of the United States. Ergo, it is correct to say that English is now the de jure official language of the United States. Where is the issue here? Ergzay (talk) 07:09, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support or oppose, the discussion needs to play out before making significant changes to related Wikipedia articles. The US having an official language really would be a big change from the last two and a half centuries. CAVincent (talk) 07:40, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Yes I would certainly agree it's a big change but something can de jure be the case even if it lacks popular support. (Though polls show that it does have popular support.) Ergzay (talk) 07:48, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I oppose this.

Firstly, Im pretty sure this change needs an act of congress. Trump also supposedly removed birthright citizenship via an EO, yet the law still exists because the EO violates the constitution and the change needed an act of congress. When Biden had the Bald Eagle officially made the national bird, that needed an act of congress too. Secondly, nearly all reliable sources thus far only seem to be talking about the EO itself rather than English as the official language. EarthDude (talk) 09:13, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support This is only to enhance accuracy and provide clarity of the article for other users. Tigerdude9 (talk) 02:53, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Also Wait. Wikipedia doesn't need an immediate update, and I expect it will be much clearer over even the next week how reliable sources treat this. CAVincent (talk) 05:30, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support with adding disclaimer As a editor of List of countries and territories where English is an official language, i support to create something that equivalent to "English is the official language of the United States", because it clearly passed how does "official language" mean. The mean of word "official language" is "a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction." Additionally, "Executive orders" are official documents through which the President of the United States manages the operations of the Federal Government. That's doesn't matter whether it is "de jure" or "de facto" as long as official documents exist. We then could created disclaimer by stating that while the US constitution doesn't define the English the official language, but it was designated as the official one through executive order.", assuming that "de jure" means by law (example Constitution). 103.111.102.118 (talk) 05:54, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    An executive order is not the law. Only Congress can make laws. An executive order "is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government, guiding agencies on how to interpret and implement congressionally-passed laws." Lawmakers have tried and failed to pass bills making English the official language. Executive order T g7 (talk) 06:12, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Executive orders are official policy instructing how the executive branch operates. In many other countries these would be considered forms of law. Violating executive orders can result in fines, or even jail time in some cases. They carry the weight of law. Quoting the American Bar Association, emphasis mine.

    Both executive orders and proclamations have the force of law, much like regulations issued by federal agencies, so they are codified under Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the formal collection of all of the rules and regulations issued by the executive branch and other federal agencies.

    Ergzay (talk) 07:13, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Strong Support. The English language has been designated as the official language of the United States of America. For example the New York Times states this change did not require changes to federal programs. This formalizes the fact that the far majority of US citizens speak English at home (77.5% according to CIA World Factbook - United States in 2022) -Artanisen (talk) 13:21, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support As is being stated by the primary source itself (the executive order) and confirmed by reliable sources (NYT, Fox News, WaPo, WSJ, the AP). Completely Random Guy (talk) 18:34, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Note: Fox News is not considered a reliable resource for politics per: WP:FOXNEWSPOLITICS. AG202 (talk) 20:22, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose the inclusion for now. See the arguments at the bottom of Talk:United States. AlexBachmann (talk) 00:58, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Strongly oppose any such statement. I'd be OK citing Trump's executive order in the text with the qualification that it is the U.S. Congress that declares official languages (as state legislatures do in the individual states). Also, while official-English bills have had congressional sponsors recently, there has never been enough support in Congress for the bill to come to the floor for a full vote. Finally, Trump's EO affects the executive branch only, and the EO might be reversed after he leaves office. Some editors here seem to mistaken a spring shower for a category-5 hurricane. Mason.Jones (talk) 02:10, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
As Completely Random Guy stated, there are enough reliable sources that confirm English to be the official language of the USA. For example BBC "signed an executive order making English the official language of the United States. CIO.gov explains: "3.1 Executive Orders (EOs) An EO is a declaration by the president which has the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers, and requiring no action by the Congress." -Artanisen (talk) 12:12, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Like others, I disagree with you. This EO is limited and temporary and, if mentioned in text, should be emphatically qualified as such. Mason.Jones (talk) 12:51, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Mason.Jones "Temporary" is a prediction. You can't bet on the next president repealing this, or on it getting overturned in the meantime. — gabldotink [ talk | contribs | global account ] 13:51, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
There are no convincing sources that the president does not have the power for such an executive order, nor that it also must be passed through Congress. -Artanisen (talk) 22:15, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wait until a consensus is reached in the more active discussion at Talk:United States#RFC: Is English the official language of the United States?, and then follow whatever is decided there. Jbt89 (talk) 17:36, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Strongly oppose: An executive order is not a law. That is not even remotely a debate. It is a policy that has legal implications and, within the scope of the executive branch of government, can carry the force of law inasmuch as empowered by existing law. However, it is not a law in and of itself. Congress, being the legislative branch of government, would need to enact legislation to declare English to be the official language of the USA for it to be “de jure.” The article already recognizes that English is the “de facto” federal language and that English has been given official status by an executive order of the Trump administration. It is unnecessary and inaccurate to say that this means English is the “de jure” official language of the USA. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SeminarianJohn (talk • contribs)
  • Support. Reliable sources clearly state the executive order made English the official language of the country. I have not found any sources saying Trump did not have the power to do so or otherwise equivocating. See coverage from ABC AP BBC CBSNBC NPR Politico Vanity Fair. ~~ Jessintime (talk) 19:46, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose approach taken is too absolutist, the action of an executive order doesn't make it the de jure official language in of itself AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 21:23, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    How is it not de jure? Do you think that Executive Orders don't have the force of law? Ergzay (talk) 22:27, 7 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Don't use wikipedia as a reference point as the first post does. "An official language is a language having certain rights to be used in defined situations. These rights can be created in written form or by historic usage." This clearly passes that test." That definition is clumsy and only partly correct. The problem is to create a better definition of what is an official language. Put simply, it is a language used by officials. Until that happens there will continue to be these endless circular discussions. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 03:43, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose (or basically wait) Many of the executive orders Trump has issued have been found unconstitutional by the courts. On the face of it, this also looks like he’s acting outside his jurisdiction if the EO is intended to make English the de jure language for the United States as a whole and not just the official language of the executive branch. We may need to see it be tested. I think we’re in a situation of uncertainty. Not nice for editors, of course. OsFish (talk) 08:42, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 4 March 2025

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The US now has an official language. Proking44444444 (talk) 16:52, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Proking44444444 We are currently having a discussion above about how to reflect President Trump's executive order in this article. Please feel free to participate in that discussion. Thank you. — gabldotink [ talk | contribs | global account ] 18:19, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Suggestion

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There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between editors who want English to be reflected as the United States’ official language and those who don’t. I think that we should compromise and add "While the United States has no de jure official language, English has been designated as the official language of the federal government’s executive branch."

English is not the de jure official language of the US; de jure means "by law", and executive orders are directives for the executive branch and not laws/legislation.

The American Civil Liberties Union writes, "With an executive order, President Trump can order the federal government to take any steps that are within the scope…of the executive branch [emphasis mine]…the president can’t take over powers from other branches."[1] The president cannot order the legislative and judicial branches with an EO. So English has only been designated as the official language within the executive branch. If English were to become the official language of the entire US government, a law doing so would have to be passed through Congress and signed into law by the president.

This Wikipedia article itself states, "The U.S. Congress has never passed legislation declaring an official language at the federal level, but English is typically used by the federal government and in states that do not have an official language. An executive order was issued by President Donald Trump on March 1, 2025 with the aim of formally recognizing English as the official language, but it is limited to the executive branch of the government."

GN22 (talk) 04:10, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This bit - "The U.S. Congress has never passed legislation declaring an official language at the federal level, but English is typically used by the federal government and in states that do not have an official language. An executive order was issued by President Donald Trump on March 1, 2025 with the aim of formally recognizing English as the official language, but it is limited to the executive branch of the government." - should perhaps not have been updated until conclusion of the RFC(s). That said, I'd be fine with leaving this or something very similar unless and until the RFC(c) reach some different approach. It seems like a pretty good summary. I'd also think that any statement regarding a change in the status of English at the federal would need to reference the EO to make clear that it is a break from the first two and half centuries of our history. CAVincent (talk) 06:35, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Apologies for the premature edit. Seeing the route the discussion was heading towards at the time, I figured that snippet would sate both sides enough to slow any edit wars in lieu of an ECP status, but I absolutely should have waited for conclusion of the discussion. TWorkman (talk) 14:23, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I think the edit was fine. Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy, and Wikipedia:If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it. We want to avoid edit warring more than we want to follow rules and processes and procedures. WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:49, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Agreeing 100%. As someone still in the Wait camp, avoiding edit warring is key. And, as stated, I'd consider the quoted text as fine unless there is consensus for something else. CAVincent (talk) 07:01, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
In medicine-related articles, I've found that any mention at all reduces our risk of edit warring. Whenever something blows up in the press ("They cured cancer!"), people try to help, but they often struggle to get it right ("In March 2025, cancer was cured" vs "In March 2025, Big University announced the results of some cancer research"). Merely getting a few key words into the article helps. It seems to make people think "Great, Wikipedia's already on it" instead of "Oh, they missed this! I should try to help!". WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:35, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Executive orders have de jure force of law just as any other regulation established by the executive branch has. This is well covered in established sources. I don't understand where people are coming at thinking that executive orders don't have force of law other than people who have been misled in the past or are intentionally trying to mislead others. Yes executive orders are weaker than laws passed by Congress and Congress can overrule an executive order, but until that point in time it has de jure force of law. Also, GN22, you're engaging in synthesis wit that ACLU quote. It does not in any way say what you say in your "in other words" that follows it. The American Bar Association https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/what-is-an-executive-order-/ states that executive orders "have the force of law, much like regulations issued by federal agencies". Ergzay (talk) 22:30, 7 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
But EOs only apply to one branch of government: the executive branch. English is currently not the official language in the legislative or judicial branches for this reason. GN22 (talk) 22:35, 7 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@GN22, I wonder if what this situation needs is a prominent ===subsection=== at the top of ==Official languages==, to explain what it means for an official language to be designated. For example: Courts can (and in at least California, they do) declare that only English counts, so if the witness is answering questions in Spanish, then the official translator's translation int English gets recorded. Legislatures publish laws in the official language(s). But declaring an official language doesn't mean that people can't speak whatever language they want at home, at work, or in stores. (Sorry to pick on you, but if you make a sensible, well-informed edit on a contentious topic, then...) WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:54, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Truthout is the only source I could find which discusses the constitutionality of the EO, saying it "could be legally dubious". Maybe not the best source since I was looking for a more law-focused publication, but they do quote a law professor on the matter. FallingGravity 06:34, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 5 March 2025

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The official language of the United states is English not None made official by President Donald J. Trump on March, 1 2025 Via executive order https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/ here is the source for the official executive order on the Whitehouse's official website I hereby request that the edit that i had reversed be made back to saying English is the the official language of the United States as per President Donald J. Trumps executive order Broomsquire (talk) 16:53, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now: Please note (and perhaps participate in) the above discussions to gain consensus first. LizardJr8 (talk) 17:35, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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