House votes to codify Trump’s Gulf of America renaming into law
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to codify former President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” The bill, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), was approved with a narrow vote of 211 to 206, with the majority of Democrats opposing it alongside one Republican. Critics, including Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), have described the effort as trivial, arguing there are more pressing issues for Congress to address.The legislation mandates that federal records reflect the name change within 180 days and faces challenges in the Senate due to the need for a 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. the name change has already sparked controversy, notably resulting in tensions with the press, as major outlets like the Associated press refused to update their style guide to accommodate the new name.
House votes to codify Trump’s Gulf of America renaming into law
The House codified an executive order from President Donald Trump on Thursday renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” one of the first landmark executive actions that Congress is seeking to solidify his agenda into law.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), passed the lower chamber in a 211 to 206 vote, with only one Republican joining all Democrats in voting against the legislation to rename the body of water.
This is the first executive order of Trump’s that the House is codifying, which has drawn some ire from Greene’s fellow Republicans who believe there are more important actions the House should be voting on.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) had signaled he would vote against the bill earlier this week, calling the legislative effort “juvenile.”
“We’re the United States of America. We’re not Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany or Napoleon’s France. I just — we’re better than this. It just sounds like a sophomore thing to do,” Bacon told CNN.
The legislation calls for “any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘Gulf of America.’”
It also directs the secretary of the interior to oversee the changing of the name in federal documents and maps, and it must be done by federal agencies no later than 180 days after the legislation is passed.
Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico sparked controversy within the press corps, after the Associated Press declined to change its stylebook to acknowledge Trump’s renaming of the Gulf. In response, the Trump administration barred the outlet from the Oval Office and kicked off a back-and-forth court battle over the First Amendment.
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A lower court judge ruled in favor of the AP, finding that the government’s actions violated the First Amendment and constituted “viewpoint discrimination.” The Trump administration appealed the court’s decision but has continued to restrict the outlet’s access to some events.
The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans need to meet a 60-vote threshold, or the filibuster. It is possible some Democrats may join the GOP in voting for the bill, but Republicans would need seven Democrats or independents to aid them to pass the legislation into law.
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