The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has filed a federal lawsuit against the White House over a lack of American Sign Language interpreters at media briefings.
The NAD says the White House abruptly stopped providing ASL interpreters during press briefings and other public events when President Trump returned to office for a second term.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, asks the court to require ASL interpreters be present at these events and that video of them be available for viewers.
ASL is distinct from English, with its own vocabulary and grammar. The NAD says “at least several hundred thousand” people in the U.S. communicate mainly in ASL, and many deaf and hard of hearing people know little English. That’s why the group says English closed captioning of briefings is not sufficient.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and names President Trump, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as defendants, along with offices for the president and vice president. The suit alleges the White House is violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is a cornerstone of federal disability rights law, as well as the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment.
