[kd5bjo]

I admit that I was unaware of that order, as I currently live overseas and don’t follow US news that closely.

However, the order opens with the line “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,” and I know of no law or constitutional clause that grants the President the power to designate an official language.

I could easily be mistaken, as there are a lot of laws on the books and this isn’t my field of expertise. Usually, though, an executive order will cite the relevant authority so that everyone understands where the power comes from; this one doesn’t.

It’s also mostly symbolic, aside from rescinding a previous order— None of the executive agencies are directed to halt producing or processing non-English documents, for instance.