Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday that the Department of Transportation is moving to permanently require commercial truck drivers to demonstrate the ability to read, write, and speak English, saying the change is intended to prevent future administrations from weakening the standard.

In a post on X, Duffy said the administration is taking steps to make English-language proficiency a permanent part of federal regulations governing commercial drivers.

“Today, I am proposing to lock English proficiency rules into federal regulations FOR GOOD — so no future administration can ever undo them,” Duffy wrote on X.

Duffy sharply criticized changes made during the Obama administration, arguing they weakened long-standing safety standards for truck drivers.

“Barack Obama weakened this rule and allowed illegal truckers onto our highways, but THAT IS NOT HAPPENING AGAIN,” he adamantly continued.

Pointing to the administration’s enforcement efforts, Duffy added, “Over 26,000 unqualified drivers have already been pulled off the road. GET READY FOR MANY, MANY MORE,” Duffy concluded.

The social media post also included video footage showing a transportation official asking a commercial truck driver to identify U.S. highway signs. The driver was reportedly unable to do so because he could not read English.

The Department of Transportation also issued a statement Friday announcing that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is beginning the formal rulemaking process to permanently incorporate English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements into federal regulations governing commercial motor vehicle drivers.

According to the department, codifying the policy would prevent future administrations from rolling back the standards, as officials say occurred in 2016, when the Obama administration changed enforcement policies in a way that allowed “unqualified drivers to remain on U.S. roads.”

The DOT said English-language requirements had existed since 1937 but were weakened under the Obama administration, preventing inspectors from placing drivers out of service solely because they could not speak or read English. Department officials said those changes opened the trucking industry to more foreign drivers who did not meet the previous standard.

The department explained that under the proposed rule, any commercial driver who cannot adequately read or speak English or understand highway signs and traffic signals will be placed out of service. The agency added that Secretary Duffy’s enforcement initiative has already removed more than 26,000 drivers from American highways after they failed English proficiency tests.

“Federal law is clear, drivers who can’t read or speak English — our national language — or understand road signs are unqualified to operate 80,000-pound big rigs on America’s highways. By making these commonsense English proficiency standards permanent, we are closing a dangerous loophole that has cost Americans their lives. The Trump Administration is committed to putting American families first and ensuring the safety of our roads,” Duffy said in a statement.

The proposal builds on President Donald Trump’s executive order signed in April 2025, titled “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers,” which declared that English proficiency “should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers.”

“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the president’s order stated. “Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English. This is common sense.”

{Matzav.com}