Florida Governor Ron DeSantis backed the Trump administration's America First agenda from day one.
Democrats thought DeSantis was becoming too powerful in the Sunshine State.
And Florida sent Democrats into meltdown mode with one driver's license decision.
DeSantis backs English-only driver's license exams
Florida just dealt a crushing blow to the Left's open borders sanctuary state allies in California and Washington.
Starting February 6, all Florida driver's license exams will be administered exclusively in English with no exceptions and no translators.
DeSantis endorsed the bombshell announcement from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles without hesitation.
"Good reform by FLHSMV to require driver exams be conducted only in English," DeSantis posted on social media. "Need to be able to read the road signs!"
The state pulled all multilingual tests from its system and banned translation services for both written and behind-the-wheel exams.
Previously, Florida offered knowledge tests in multiple languages for regular driver's licenses while Commercial Driver's License exams were available in English and Spanish.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2017607293089583161?s=20
State officials framed the crackdown as essential for highway safety by ensuring drivers can read road signs and communicate with law enforcement.
"Florida takes a leading role in highway safety by requiring all driver license exams be taken in English and without an interpreter," the agency stated.
Local officials like Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy Millan were blindsided by the announcement with just one week's notice.
Her office gave 37% of skills tests in languages other than English in 2025.
That's 13,517 exams in languages like Haitian-Creole, Portuguese, and Chinese that won't be available anymore.
Democrats immediately cried racism and claimed the policy targets immigrants.
Democrats can't explain away the Singh disaster
Democrats can scream about racism all they want but three dead Americans in Florida prove why English proficiency matters for commercial drivers.
The move comes after illegal alien truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike in August 2025 that killed three people.
Singh entered the United States illegally through California in 2018.
California gave him a Commercial Driver's License in July 2024 despite Singh having no legal right to be in America.
Washington state issued him a CDL a year earlier even though federal law prohibits asylum seekers or illegal aliens from receiving these licenses.
Singh failed his CDL written exam 10 times between March and May 2023 before Washington finally gave him a license anyway.
After the crash, federal investigators gave Singh an English proficiency test and a road sign quiz.
He bombed both.
Singh couldn't read three out of four highway signs and answered just two questions correctly out of 12 on the English assessment.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2017607293089583161?s=20
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced his department was investigating how California and Washington let Singh operate commercial vehicles on American highways.
"Federal law is clear, a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English — our national language — and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America," Duffy stated.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit directly with the Supreme Court against California and Washington seeking to declare their sanctuary state CDL policies unconstitutional.
"Washington improperly issued this illegal immigrant a CDL in 2023, after 13 failed examinations," the complaint stated.
Three innocent people paid with their lives for California's reckless sanctuary state policies.
Florida's English-only exam policy sends a clear message that the state won't enable the same deadly mistakes that California and Washington made.
Trump administration backs Florida's reform
Florida's announcement follows President Trump's March 2025 executive order declaring English the official language of the United States for the first time in American history.
Trump rescinded Bill Clinton's executive order that required federal agencies to provide extensive services in foreign languages.
"A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language," Trump's order stated.
The Obama administration suspended enforcement of English proficiency rules for commercial truck drivers in 2016.
Trump reversed that decision and required truckers to communicate with inspectors during traffic stops without using smartphone translation apps.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2011852515189387369?s=20
Florida Democrat Party Chair Nikki Fried attacked the English-only exam policy as racist targeting of immigrants.
"In one of the most multilingual states in the country, Florida is going to implement driver's license exams exclusively in English," Fried posted. "This is not about safety, this is about racism."
But Fried can't explain how allowing drivers who can't read "No U-Turn" signs or communicate with police makes Florida roads safer.
California and Washington gave Harjinder Singh commercial licenses despite him failing tests 10 times and being unable to speak English.
The Singh disaster proves English requirements save lives.
Florida officials made the right call by requiring all drivers to demonstrate they can read road signs and understand traffic laws in English.
The Sunshine State just became the national model for highway safety by refusing to repeat California's deadly mistakes.
Sources:
- Michelle Vecerina, "Florida to mandate English-only driver license exams to boost highway safety," Florida Voice News, January 30, 2026.
- Staff Reports, "DeSantis administration backs English-only drivers' license exams," Florida Politics, January 31, 2026.
- Amanda Prestigiacomo, "Florida Takes Action On Foreign Drivers: 'English Only'," Daily Wire, January 31, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Criminal Illegal Alien Recklessly Driving an 18-Wheeler Kills Three in Florida," August 18, 2025.
- Florida Voice News, "Illegal alien truck driver in deadly Turnpike crash failed CDL test 10 times, attorney general says," October 24, 2025.
- The White House, "Designating English as the Official Language of The United States," March 1, 2025.
