Republican hopes are sky high that a popular airport serving the nation’s capital could be renamed ‘Trump International’ after a bill was introduced that is sure to cause turbulence.
A coalition of House Republicans led by Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., introduced the bill on March 29.
The sole purpose of the two-page measure is to rename Washington Dulles International Airport to Donald J. Trump International Airport.
If the bill is signed into law, which is unlikely, both major airports serving the DC area would be named after Republican presidents: Ronald Regan and Donald Trump.
“In my lifetime, our nation has never been greater than under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump,” Reschenthaler said in a statement announcing the bill.
The main terminal of Washington Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington, DC
Republicans are proposing to rename Dulles to 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.”
The bill is supported by several Republicans, including Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Chuck Fleishmann, R-Tenn., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Troy Nehls, R-Texas, Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Barry Moore, R-Ala.
The airport is currently named after former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower after a brief stint as a Republican U.S. Senator from New York.
The airport opened in 1962, three years after Dulles died from complications with colon cancer.
The measure, which could pass the House of Representatives with a narrow majority, would certainly face turbulence in the Senate.
The Democratic-controlled Senate was unlikely to pass the measure because it did not want to give legitimacy to a Republican president, especially during an election year.
“Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges,” Rep. Garry Connolly, D-Va., whose district includes part of the airport, said after introducing the bill.
“If the Republicans want to name something after him, I suggest they find a federal prison.”
Notably, Dulles is the only major international airport serving DC
Ronald Regan Washington National Airport, just outside the county in Arlington, Virginia, serves primarily as a hub for domestic flights.
However, it does have a few routes that go too close to countries like Canada and some destinations in the Caribbean.
Former President Donald Trump regularly flies around the country on his ‘Trump Force One’, a nickname reminiscent of the presidential plane Air Force One
“In 1998, Congress renamed Washington National Airport after one of our great presidents, Ronald Reagan,” Moore said. Fox news.
“It is only fitting that we would do the same for another of our greatest presidents, Donald J. Trump, especially as he stands against the onslaught of armed governments fighting for Americans like us.”
Gosar also addressed the possible name change, telling Fox News, “I see no more fitting recognition than naming both airports in our nation’s capital after America’s two greatest presidents: DCA after President Reagan and Dulles after President Trump.” ‘