Disability

The White House is making an unusual argument as it resists advocates’ push for sign language interpretation at press briefings conducted by President Donald Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Providing American sign language interpretation in press conferences “would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public,” Justice Department attorneys argued in a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Deaf.

The novel argument is just one part of the White House’s case against providing ASL interpretation, and DOJ attorneys haven’t elaborated much on the alleged intrusion. But it has raised concerns among advocates, and even the judge in the case.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued an order last month requiring the White House to provide real-time ASL interpretation for Trump and Leavitt’s briefings, rejecting the administration’s argument that closed captioning and transcripts give Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing sufficient access to the president’s statements.

“To the extent the defendants argue that they prefer to act free from association with accessibility for people with disabilities, their gripe is with Congress and” federal anti-discrimination laws themselves, Ali wrote.

The Trump administration immediately appealed Ali’s ruling. The White House has begun providing interpretation for more events since the court issued its injunction, although the two sides of the case have disagreed over the specifics of what’s required.