Republicans in the House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday that changes the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America under federal law.
The controversial measure passed in a 211-206 vote, sending it off to the Senate, where it is unlikely to receive enough votes to pass. At least seven Democrats would have to be in favor of the change in order for it to pass.
The bill, introduced by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in January, instructs federal agencies to update all documents and maps to reflect the name change within six months of enactment.
When he entered office in January, President Donald Trump vowed to name the Gulf something more American, claiming the name was appropriate “because we do most of the work there and it’s ours.”
Even if the name change is codified into US law, other countries would not be mandated to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by any other name. If it isn’t codified into law, a future US president could easily reverse the move through executive action.
“As the previous administration made it painfully clear, executive orders can be undone and overwritten, and that’s why we have to move it through the legislative process — and we are,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday, according to NBC News. “We’re going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.”
Despite Republicans’ best efforts, the bill has hit a few speed bumps, including opposition from Nebraska Rep. Republican Don Bacon, who called the plan “juvenile” and voted against it.
Greene, who introduced the bill, indicated that Bacon may not be the only Republican opposed.
“Some of my Republican colleagues don’t want to vote for my Gulf of America Act, which is one of President Trump’s favorite executive orders,” she wrote Wednesday on X. “They say they would rather vote on ‘more serious EOs.’”
Since the start of his second term, Trump has made waves with his efforts to rename other landmarks and countries, including his decision to revert the name of Alaska’s Mount Denali to Mount McKinley.
Most recently, Trump showed interest in renaming another gulf.
Ahead of a trip planned to the Middle East next week, Trump is reportedly planning to announce that the U.S. will start referring to the Persian Gulf as the “Arabian Gulf” or “Gulf of Arabia” in a snub to Iran.
