On November 4, 2025, US District Judge Amir H. Ali handed down a decision that’s sending ripples through the White House and the deaf community alike. Judge Ali ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to immediately restore American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for all White House press briefings conducted by either the president himself or Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, according to reports from Bloomberg Law, The Independent, and other outlets. The ruling comes after months of legal wrangling and a heated national debate over access and inclusion in the highest levels of government communication.
The legal challenge was brought by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Derrick Ford, a deaf individual, who argued that the Trump administration’s abrupt discontinuation of ASL interpretation at press briefings violated the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This federal law prohibits discrimination by executive agencies, and the plaintiffs claimed that the lack of interpreters denied deaf Americans access to vital, real-time information about national affairs. "White House press briefings engage the American people on important issues affecting their daily lives—in recent months, war, the economy, and healthcare, and, in recent years, a global pandemic," Judge Ali wrote in his 26-page order, as cited by The New York Post. "The exclusion of deaf Americans from that programming, in addition to likely violating the Rehabilitation Act, is clear and present harm that the court cannot meaningfully remedy after the fact."
This legal saga traces its roots back to 2020, when the NAD and several individuals first sued the Trump administration for failing to provide ASL interpretation during COVID-19 press briefings. That lawsuit resulted in a preliminary injunction, and the issue seemed settled when the Biden administration adopted a broad policy ensuring ASL interpretation for all official briefings by the president, vice president, first lady, second gentleman, or press secretary. However, when Trump returned to office in January 2025, the White House abruptly ceased providing ASL interpreters, prompting the NAD to file a new lawsuit in May of this year.
The plaintiffs’ case was compelling. They argued that closed captioning alone was not enough, since many deaf Americans use ASL as their primary language and have limited proficiency in English. Judge Ali agreed, finding that providing ASL interpretation was "readily feasible" and that the government’s arguments to the contrary were unconvincing. The court found that the exclusion of deaf Americans from White House briefings wasn’t just a technical oversight—it was a violation of their civil rights. "Given the nature of the programming at issue here—regularly scheduled briefings on critical topics implicating markets, medicine, militaries, and myriads of other issues—the court finds that denying deaf Americans access to and the benefit of it presents a clear, present, and imminent harm," Ali wrote, according to The Independent.
Trump’s legal team, for their part, argued that requiring the president to "share his platform" with ASL interpreters would be a "major incursion" on his prerogatives and his ability to shape the administration’s messaging. In a June court filing, Trump’s attorneys claimed, "Requiring the president to share his platform with ASL interpreters every time he or his Press Secretary communicates with the nation is a major incursion on his central prerogatives." Judge Ali was not persuaded, calling the argument "puzzling" and noting that the administration could easily implement remote ASL interpretation without requiring an interpreter to physically share the stage. "ASL interpretation does not require a speaker to ‘share his platform’ with anyone," Ali wrote, pointing out that technology allows for interpreters to be visible on screen without being in the same room.
The court’s order was precise, requiring "simultaneous and publicly accessible ASL interpretation by a qualified interpreter for all publicly announced White House press briefings conducted by the President or White House Press Secretary." However, Judge Ali stopped short of granting all the relief the plaintiffs had sought. The NAD had requested ASL interpretation for events conducted by Vice President JD Vance, First Lady Melania Trump, and Second Lady Usha Vance, as well as for TV networks and all White House videos online. The judge denied these broader requests, finding that the plaintiffs’ evidence and arguments focused almost exclusively on briefings by Trump and Leavitt, and did not support extending the order to other officials or platforms.
Judge Ali also addressed the government’s argument that the case should be dismissed because of a prior settlement agreement from the 2020 litigation. He ruled that the current claim was not barred by that agreement, since the facts and events at issue—namely, the exclusion from briefings that had not yet occurred—were distinct from those in the earlier case. "The plaintiffs’ claim here cannot be said to be the same as in the prior suit—or, as courts have put it, to ‘share the same nucleus of facts’ as that case," Ali explained.
The Trump administration was ordered to file a status report by November 7, 2025, to demonstrate compliance with the court’s order. As of press time, the White House had not responded to requests for comment from The Independent and other news organizations. The case, officially titled Nat’l Assoc. of the Deaf v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-01683, has become a flashpoint in the ongoing national conversation about accessibility, government transparency, and the rights of Americans with disabilities.
The NAD’s interim CEO, Dr. Bobbie Beth Scoggins, underscored the broader stakes in a statement: "Deaf and hard of hearing Americans have the right to the same access to White House information as everyone else. Denying them ASL interpreters is a direct violation of that right, and the NAD will continue to fight for their full inclusion in the democratic process. Such information must be provided not only through captioning but also in American Sign Language."
It’s worth noting that on his first day back in office this year, President Trump ordered the termination of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, calling them "radical and wasteful." That move, and the subsequent elimination of ASL interpretation at briefings, triggered strong reactions from advocates for disability rights and accessibility. The return of ASL interpreters, mandated by Judge Ali’s order, marks a significant reversal—and a reminder that the courts can play a crucial role in upholding the rights of marginalized communities, even (or especially) when political winds shift.
As the administration prepares its compliance report and the nation watches for the next developments, the message from the judiciary is clear: equal access to government information isn’t just a courtesy. It’s a right, and one that must be protected for all Americans, no matter who’s in the White House.
