Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Bans Word From State Government Documents

New Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order this week banning the use of “Latinx” in government documents because it is “culturally insensitive” to the Latino community.

“Ethnically insensitive and pejorative language has no place in official government documents or government employee titles,” Sanders’ executive order stated. “The government has a responsibility to respect its citizens and use ethnically appropriate language, particularly when referring to ethnic minorities.”

The executive order noted that polling from the Pew Research Center has found that roughly only 2-3% of Latinos even use the word “Latinx” to describe themselves and that the Real Academia Española, a Madrid-based institution that serves as a guide for the Spanish language, has officially rejected the use of “x” as an alternative to “o” and “a” in Spanish.

Sanders said that it was the official policy of her administration to “prohibit the use of culturally insensitive words for official state government business.”

“All state offices, departments, and agencies, unless granted an exemption by the Governor, shall review official documents of their respective entities regarding the use of the term ‘Latinx,’ ‘latinx,’ ‘Latinxs,’ or ‘latinxs’ in official state documents,” the order said.

The state entities are to report back to the Governor’s office highlighting all instances in which the word is used and “within sixty (60) days of this Order, all state offices, departments, and agencies shall revise all existing written materials by replacing the terms ‘Latinx,’ ‘latinx,’ ‘Latinxs,’ or ‘latinxs’ with ‘Hispanic,’ ‘Hispanics,’ ‘Latino,’ ‘Latinos,’ ‘Latina,’ or ‘Latinas.'”

Sanders also signed an executive order targeting woke indoctrination in schools, specifically Critical Race Theory, which the order described as “antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness.”

“It emphasizes skin color as a person’s primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject,” the order said. “It is the policy of this administration that CRT, discrimination, and indoctrination have no place in Arkansas classrooms.”

Sanders, 40, was sworn into office in Little Rock on Tuesday where she follows in the footsteps of her father, Mike Huckabee, who served as governor of the state from 1996 to 2007.

I am incredibly honored to be the 47th Governor, and the first woman governor, of the great state of Arkansas.

We will show the world that there is still a place in America where freedom reigns and liberty will never die, and that place is Arkansas. 

Now, let's get to work. pic.twitter.com/vkSf6yw7sb

— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) January 10, 2023

“I am incredibly honored to be the 47th Governor, and the first woman governor, of the great state of Arkansas,” Sanders said in a statement. “We will show the world that there is still a place in America where freedom reigns and liberty will never die, and that place is Arkansas. Now, let’s get to work.”

Republican-Controlled Congress Launches Investigation Into Biden Over Classified Document Scandal

The new Republican-controlled Congress launched a probe into President Joe Biden on Tuesday after news broke this week that classified material from Biden’s time as vice president was discovered at a Biden think tank in Washington, D.C.

A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the 10 classified documents contain U.S. intelligence memos and briefing materials on Iran, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, though it is unclear what exact information is contained.

“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating President Biden’s failure to return vice-presidential records — including highly classified documents — to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in violation of the Presidential Records Act,” wrote Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer in a letter to White House Counsel Stuart Delery.

“Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Justice and NARA have made compliance with the Presidential Records Act a top priority,” the letter continued, an apparent reference to the criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump. “President Biden has claimed he was not going to ‘get myself in the middle of whether or not the Justice Department should move or not move on certain actions they could take.’”

“The Committee expects President Biden will receive equal treatment under the law given that he maintained classified documents in his unsecured office for several years with access to an unknown number of people,” Comer said. “President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, also planned to share an office with an individual affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, which raises questions about who else had access to these highly sensitive documents because of President Biden’s ‘totally irresponsible’ actions.”

Comer said that the White House had two weeks to provide the following documents and information to the Committee:

All documents retrieved from President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center; All internal documents and communications regarding the documents retrieved from President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center; A list of all people who had access to President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center; All documents and communications related to the handling of the classified material by President Biden’s personal lawyers—including but not limited to their security clearance status; and All documents and communications between or among the White House and the Department of Justice or NARA regarding the documents retrieved from President Biden’s personal office at the Penn Biden Center.

Related: Biden Issues Statement Over Classified Documents That Were Found In His Office