A judge in Washington, D.C., has told the White House that it must start using American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at every press briefing with President Trump or press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The order began right away. The judge said it is harmful to leave deaf people out of talks about war, the economy, health care, and other big topics.
Many deaf and hard of hearing people use ASL as their main language. ASL has its own grammar and words. English captions alone do not help everyone.
The National Association of the Deaf says equal access to information is a right, not a choice. The group is happy with the judge’s ruling.
Two deaf men and the National Association of the Deaf sued the White House in May. They say the lack of ASL breaks the Rehabilitation Act, which bans discrimination by the federal government.
The judge did not order ASL interpreters for events led by the vice president or first lady yet. He asked the White House to tell the court how it will follow the order by Friday.