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House Republicans connected Thursday approved a measure to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” the archetypal measurement successful codifying 1 of the enforcement orders President Trump signed connected Inauguration Day.
The enclosure cleared the authorities — titled the “Gulf of America Act” — successful a 211-206 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration, wherever its aboriginal looks dim. At slightest 7 Democrats would request to articulation each Republicans successful supporting the authorities for it to pass, an improbable scenario.
For now, however, Republicans are touting House transition of the measurement arsenic a triumph for Trump’s docket and his “America first” mantra. In a motion of the excitement among Republicans, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) displayed a ample motion extracurricular his bureau depicting a representation with the “Gulf of America” label.
“Names matter,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who sponsored the legislation, said connected the House level Thursday. “Parents instrumentality a batch of clip erstwhile they deliberation astir what to sanction a kid that they’re blessed to invited successful the satellite due to the fact that they person pridefulness and they’re to invited their caller babe into the satellite and that’s wherefore they instrumentality pridefulness successful the sanction that they sanction their child.”
“And arsenic we rename the gulf the Gulf of America we are besides taking pridefulness successful those waters,” she added. “There are an estimated fractional a cardinal businesses operating on the gulf coast. The gulf is simply a large economical hub, peculiarly for lipid and state production.”
The measure, which spans 4 pages, calls for each U.S. records — including laws, maps, regulations, documents and papers — to notation to the waterway arsenic the “Gulf of America.”
Democrats opposed the measurement successful droves, arguing that passing the authorities was not a astute mode to usage the House’s clip successful specified a news-heavy moment.
“I impulse a beardown nary against this silly, small-minded, sycophantic portion of legislation,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said connected the House level Thursday. “What mightiness members of Congress nether this impermanent Republican bulk beryllium debating connected the level today? Would it beryllium authorities astir the economy? Something astir wellness care? Anything astir societal security? Perhaps thing connected nationalist safety? Maybe nationalist information matters? Anything to bring to beingness the American imagination for hardworking American taxpayers?”
“No,” helium added. “What Republicans person decided to walk this full legislative time doing is to statement a measure to rename the Gulf of Mexico.”
While the authorities drew wide enactment from Republicans, determination were immoderate frustrations among moderates who, similarly, griped astir focusing connected the mostly symbolic measurement erstwhile members could beryllium focusing connected different pressing matters.
“I’ve heard criticisms from each corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones,” centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Fox News. “It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and amended than this.”
Bacon was the lone GOP "no" ballot connected Thursday.
The White House backed the bill. In a statement of medication policy, the Office of Management and Budget said the medication “strongly supports” the measure, penning that it “recognizes the authoritative renaming of the Gulf of America, arsenic it continues to play a pivotal relation successful shaping the Nation’s future.”
