The Trump administration is fighting to keep American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters from interpreting White House press briefings in real time after the The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) sued the President’s team in May.
Attorneys for the Department of Justice have argued that allowing signing “would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public.”
NAD filed suit against the Trump administration arguing that the exclusion of ASL interpretation precludes hundreds of thousands of Americans from staying informed on issues important to U.S. citizens in real time.
Government lawyers have argued that closed captioning and written transcripts of briefings provide that service. They’ve also suggested that assembling personnel for events that take shape spontaneously, such as question and answer exchanges, could be difficult.
Washington, D.C. houses Gallaudet University, largely considered the world’s top school for the hearing impaired. There are 1,400 students as well as staffers on that campus who could potentially be of service. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser routinely uses ASL interpreters at her events.
One of the primary objectives of President Trump’s run for office was a promise to do away with practices that represent diversity, equity and inclusion.
NAD also sued the Trump administration during the president’s first term in office at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A settlement was reached in November 2020 allowing ASL interpreters to report live from White House briefings.
A court filing reported on by Politico in June showed the Justice Department believes the President enjoys “the prerogative to shape his Administration’s image and messaging as he sees fit.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately comment Friday on the status of the ongoing lawsuit. The Trump administration has gone to unprecedented lengths to control the White House and Pentagon press pools since the 47th president returned to power in January.
With News Wire Services
