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The airport closest to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club may soon bear his name after both chambers of the Florida Legislature passed a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach in his honor.
Trump’s name has been affixed to multiple pieces of infrastructure in recent months, from the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington to Donald J. Trump highways in Florida and Oklahoma.
Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., has also introduced a bill to strip former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles’ name from the Washington-area airport in Virginia, aiming to have the nation’s capital served by Trump and Reagan.
Senate Bill 706, sponsored by RNC Chairman and state Sen. Joe Gruters of Lakeland and state Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Brevard. passed the upper chamber and was paired with House Bill 919, sponsored by state Rep. Meg Weinberger, R-Palm Beach Gardens, whose district includes the airport. The House measure passed earlier Friday.
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The text of the bill amends an existing law codifying the names of several Florida airports, including Miami International Airport and Jacksonville International Airport, to add language designating that the airport in West Palm Beach “currently known as the Palm Beach International Airport shall be renamed the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
The bill also grants Palm Beach County funding for the rebranding effort.
The renaming still requires approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A DeSantis spokeswoman said the governor has not yet received the bill, but “once it is delivered to his office, he will review it in its final form.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to a representative for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for comment.
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Florida Democrats warned about the estimated $5 million in rebranding costs and any incidental profits that could be made by the Trump family.
Democrats also said any consideration should wait until 2029, when the current president is out of office, according to The Floridian Press.
Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., whose district includes the airport and for whom Trump is a constituent, criticized the proposal.
“It’s misguided and unfair that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature ignored the voices of Palm Beach County by pushing forward a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport without giving county residents a real opportunity for input,” Frankel said in a statement.
She echoed concerns about renaming an airport after a sitting president.
“Decisions … should wait until after an honoree’s service has concluded,” Frankel said. “And [they] should include meaningful input from the local residents and communities most directly affected.”
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the name “has a great ring to it.”
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