Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Wednesday seized on President-elect Donald Trump’s newly revealed wish to rename the Gulf of Mexico after America, arguing that the United States pays to protect it.
“It’s our gulf,” she said in unveiling her two-page bill set to be introduced Thursday. “The rightful name is the Gulf of America, and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as.”
At a press conference earlier Tuesday, Trump announced his idea of changing the name to the Gulf of America, one of the many new initiatives he has offered since becoming the president-elect. Others include buying Greenland and making Canada the 51st state.
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Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it.
The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime… pic.twitter.com/m0Nh3a6vuq
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) January 7, 2025
In his comments, Trump suggested the renaming would be a reaction to Mexico allowing illegal immigrants to pass through and into the United States where the Biden administration has an open border policy. Trump ran on a platform of closing the border.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” Trump said. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”
Greene argued that the U.S. should get the credit for keeping the Gulf open for navigation and trade.
“The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries,” said Greene, one of Trump’s key lieutenants in Congress.
As soon as Trump mused on the name change, Greene put her legislative team on it.
“We already have the bill written with legislative council and ready to file first thing Thursday morning. Congress has to take the Trump agenda mandate seriously and that means acting fast to enact it,” she said on X.
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She called it the “Gulf of America Act of 2025.” It would require the Commerce Department generally and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration specifically to lead the government wide renaming and change on maps and documents. They would have 180 days after Trump signs the legislation.
The Gulf is a huge bay ringed by the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. Both Mexico and the U.S. have the most coastline, though Mexico has a tiny bit more, 63 miles, 1,743 miles to 1,680.
