Republicans’s play for Trump’s legacy in the US House of Representatives are seeking to name the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia after the 45th president, Donald Trump.
Seven House Republicans have proposed renaming an international airport just outside the nation’s capital after former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a Pennsylvania Republican, introduced a bill late last week to rename Washington Dulles International Airport, which was named after former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Reschenthaler, a member of House GOP leadership, told Fox News that he could think of no better way to welcome international visitors to US soil.
“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 told Fox News.
Republicans keep finding ways to buck up Trump’
Republicans’s play for Trump’s legacy in Congress and at the state level have repeatedly attempted efforts to buttress Trump’s legacy. In Congress, Republicans have tried to push the former president to receive a Nobel Peace Prize and have also proposed formally expunging his impeachments.
Americans have named everything from aircraft carriers to cities after former commander-in-chiefs. George Washington, of course, has an entire state named in his honor. The other major airport in the DC area, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, was renamed after Reagan in 1998.
We have now landed at ‘Donald J. Trump International Airport’
US Republican Representative Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania said in an X post on Tuesday that Trump is the “best president of my lifetime” and that his leadership stood for freedom, prosperity and strength.
Therefore, he was introducing legislation to rename Dulles as “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
The short two-page bill, which was filed Friday, has also been co-sponsored by several other pro-Trump Republicans, such as Troy Nehls of Texas and Paul Gosar of Arizona. The legislation would necessitate that the name of the airport be changed in official records.
The Dulles airport is currently named after John Foster Dulles, a former US Secretary of State who served during Republican President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration in the 1950s. The airport is a hub for the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas and offers many domestic and international routes.
For the name to be changed, the legislation would have to pass both the House, which has a thin Republican majority, and the Democratic-controlled Senate. It’s unlikely to be adopted amid opposition from Democrats.
Virginia Democrat: A federal prison should be named after Trump instead
Gerry Connolly, a Democrat in the US House who represents Fairfax County in Virginia where Dulles airport is located, mocked the idea of a name change.
“Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges,” Connolly said in a statement, referring to Trump’s legal troubles. “If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison.”
Jennifer Wexton, another Democratic congresswoman representing northern Virginia, said the bill is “just another in a long list of instances where extreme Republicans have shown how unserious and delusional they are.”
It’s not uncommon in the US for airports to be named after prominent presidents or political figures. So far, no airport in the US has been named after Trump, who is currently running against Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.
Another airport in the DC area is named Ronald Reagan National Airport after the conservative Republican who served in the White House from 1981 to 1989.
New York City’s main international hub, meanwhile, is named John F. Kennedy International Airport, bearing the name of the famous Democrat who was assassinated in 1963.