Deaf actor Marlee Matlin calls out Trump administration as it’s sued over sign language access

US president Donald Trump has been sued by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) for a second time, after his administration decided once again to do away with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation of White House press briefings upon entering office – and deaf actor Marlee Matlin is among those criticising the lack of access.

The NAD announced it had filed the lawsuit in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, with the legal complaint accusing Trump and his administration of violating the first amendment (on freedom of speech) and fifth amendment (on due process).

Two deaf individuals are also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit alongside the NAD – 36-year-old Derrick Ford from Indiana, and 48-year-old Matthew Bonn (also known as Treann River) from Maryland.

In a statement, the NAD’s interim chief executive officer Dr Bobbie Beth Scoggins said: “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.”

During Joe Biden’s term, ASL interpreters were provided for all White House press briefings, but the NAD says this “abruptly ended in January 2025” – the month Trump was inaugurated.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing”, which included a call for the “termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government”.

The NAD wrote to the White House in February and April urging the administration to reinstate ASL access, but this has not happened.

Now, there’s a lawsuit, and Matlin – star of 2022 Best Picture winner CODAand the first deaf actor to win an Oscar in 1987 for Children of a Lesser God – has called on Trump to provide the “same access” she experienced during her time as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice:

She wrote: “You embraced the importance of Sign Language interpreters and provided them during Celebrity Apprentice. I hope you can provide the same access again and allow White House press briefings to be interpreted for millions of Deaf people like me.”

Trump last faced a lawsuit on this issue back in 2020, when he decided not to provide ASL interpretation for briefings on the coronavirus.

The NAD won.

indy100 has approached the White House for comment.

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