House Republicans introduce bill to rename Dulles airport after Trump
Virginia Democrats panned the effort A group of House Republicans has introduced a bill to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after former President Donald Trump. The measure was introduced by Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, the House GOP’s chief deputy whip, and is supported by Reps. Michael Waltz, Andy Ogles, Charles Fleischmann, Paul Gosar, Barry Moore, and Troy Nehls, R-Texas. The bill mandates that any reference in any law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the airport is considered to be a reference to the Donald J. Trump International Airport. However, critics, particularly Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, particularly those representing the airport, called the bill "ridiculous" and "sadly real".
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A group of House Republicans put forth a bill to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after former President Donald Trump.
The measure was introduced by Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, the House GOP’s chief deputy whip, and is backed by Reps. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., Charles Fleischmann, R-Tenn., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Barry Moore, R-Ala., and Troy Nehls, R-Texas.
"Freedom. Prosperity. Strength. That's what America stood for under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump — the best president of my lifetime," Reschenthaler wrote on social media. "And that's why I'm introducing legislation to rename Dulles as the Donald J. Trump International Airport."
“As millions of domestic and international travelers fly through the airport, there is no better symbol of freedom, prosperity, and strength than hearing 'Welcome to Trump International Airport' as they land on American soil,” Reschenthaler said in a statement.
News of the bill was first reported by Fox News. It mandates that “[a]ny reference in any law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the airport … shall be considered to be a reference to the Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
The bill is unlikely to get taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate. It’s also unclear if it will get a vote in the House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority.
Democrats, particularly those who represent Virginia, largely panned the effort.
"This idea is ridiculous, but sadly real," said Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who is running for governor next year. "Congress must act on pressing issues like reauthorizing the FAA and passing the national security supplemental. Yet this is what a Member of House Republican leadership focuses on — renaming Virginia’s Dulles airport after Trump."
"Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges. If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison," Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In a thread on X, Virginia Rep. Don Beyer recalled how he visited Dulles in 2017 amid Trump's executive order banning travel from predominantly Muslim countries. "I remember Republicans like those who wrote this bill hiding and giving mealy mouthed responses when asked about the suffering Trump’s Muslim ban caused," he wrote. "They know Dulles will never be renamed after Trump. Again, that’s not the point, the point is to suck up to their Dear Leader."
Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat, offered his "support" with a dig at Trump, writing on X: "Dulles is an old, ugly airport that no one wants to see. So I think this is a fitting tribute to 45."
The airport, which opened in 1962, is located roughly 25 miles west of downtown Washington in Loudoun County and Fairfax County in Northern Virginia and handles the lion’s share of the international flights in the D.C. metropolitan area. More than 25 million passengers passed through the airport last year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
It is named after John Foster Dulles, a Cold War-era Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower who also briefly represented New York in the U.S. Senate.
Topik: GOP