The Republican-led House of Representatives renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the US Gulf on Thursday, passing a bill directing federal agencies, and passing direct agencies to update documents and maps to incorporate new names.
President Trump has already signed the Gulf Coast on his first day in office. House Republicans are unsure if the Senate will go with them, but they are aiming to show their support. The bill was voted 211-206.
The waters share the border between the United States and Mexico. Trump’s orders carry authority only within the US Mexico and other countries and international organizations, but do not need to be aware of the name change.
Democrats said they voted that Republicans do not focus on the priorities of most Americans. New York State Rep. Hakem Jeffries, a top Democrat in the House, asked Democrats to vote against the “silly, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid legislation.”
“It’s easy to laugh at this law because it’s so embarrassing and embarrassing,” says Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) “But it’s exactly what it is, and the fact that House Republicans chose to waste time and taxpayer dollars to raise it for the vote is worth considering.”
Republicans said the Gulf nomenclature dates back to the pre-US period, when Spanish influence was at the peak of Central America and the Caribbean. But now it is the United States that controls economic activity in the Gulf.
“In short, this law recognizes the strategic impact that America has on this geography. We are passively striving for the Bay, not to mention the existing economic, cultural and commercial possibilities,” said Rep. Virginia Fox, RN.C.
The bill was sponsored by Trump’s ally and influential voice Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) at the Republican Congress, who wore a red “Make America Great” hat in a coalition speech last year.
“The US Gulf is one of the most important things we can do with this Congress,” Green said, adding that it will promote the nation’s pride.
The Gulf of Mexico has been carrying the name for over 400 years. While acknowledging the new name Trump chose, he posted the Associated Press on it under his original name. The White House moved in February to stop Associated Press from being one of a small group of journalists, with the ability to cover cards in an oval office, carry the Air Force, and cover him at East Room events.
The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials over access to the president’s event, citing freedom of speech when asking federal judges to stop the journalist block.
A federal judge last month ordered the White House to restore full access to cover the Associated Press’ Presidential events, affirming it on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish news outlets for the content of their speech.
GOP leadership in the House promoted the law at a press conference earlier in the week.
“The American people are putting up bills to protect and secure the Gulf of America, and it’s right that it’s properly named,” said Lisa McClain, chairman of the House Republican Conference in Michigan.
Several Democrats opposed the bill on the House floor.
“Instead of heart-bending tariffs, billionaires giveaways and renaming water bodies, we should vote for bills that cut the costs of the average family,” said Rep. George Latimer (DN.Y.).
“No one wants a newly named water body,” Latimer said. “They want lower grocery bills.”
Fleking wrote on the Associated Press.
