Florida lawmakers have passed a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump, CNN reports.
The bill to rename the south Florida hub passed the state Senate Thursday with 25 votes in favor and 11 votes against, all from Democrats, two days after Florida’s House of Representatives passed the measure 81-30.
The bill now awaits Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature, and the name change is subject to the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration. According to the text, the act would take effect in the beginning of July.
The move comes as Trump has already applied his name to a slew of things – renaming buildings and government initiatives after himself in ways unprecedented for a sitting president.
Florida GOP leaders said they wanted to rename the Palm Beach airport after Trump, the first president to declare permanent residency in Florida.
“This is the President’s hometown, he lives five miles away from the airport,” said bill co-sponsor Republican Florida Rep. Meg Weinberger, according to CNN affiliate WLUK.
Trump, a native New Yorker, changed his residency to Florida in 2019, declaring his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach his permanent residence.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Congresswoman Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents West Palm Beach, said in a statement following the vote 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.”
