Trump’s latest power grab hits a constitutional brick wall

President Donald Trump greets Supreme Court justices after addressing a joint session of Congress, March 4, 2025. Image via Screengrab / PBS.

As President Donald Trump continues to push for the public to refer to artificial intelligence as "super intelligence," on Monday, the president sought to have New Mexico change its name. He previously used his position to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” signing an executive order over the summer amid his ongoing trade war with Canada. Similarly, he took executive action last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America.” However, one major obstacle could derail his push to rename New Mexico.

“New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America. We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!” Trump wrote onTruth Social. His comments come ahead of midterm elections where voters polled across the country complain that Trump’s priorities are in the wrong place.

A new report from CNN notes that the president has the power to rename geographic landmarks, such as bodies of water, but he does not have a constitutional right to legally rename states. That process is left to be decided within the leaders of said state.

The process is a complex one. Renaming a state typically requires a formal process, including legislative approval, a state constitutional amendment, and a public vote, per ABC News.

It’s not his first time suggesting New Mexico be renamed. In September, heposted to social media a map of the state with the word “Mexico” crossed out and “America” written underneath. The same post was re-shared by the White House’s account. Ironically, per a fact sheet on the origin of state names from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, New Mexico’s name predates the founding of the United States.

With the decision being left up to the state, leaders in New Mexico have spoken in opposition to Trump’s push. New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote in a post to X, in part: “Let me repeat: New Mexico was New Mexico long before the United States existed and we’ll be New Mexico forevermore.” She also shared similar sentiments to voters polled about Trump not paying attention to actual pressing matters, asking, “This tired New America bit again? You have to ask — what policy failure is Trump trying to distract Americans from this time?”

Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico wrote in asocial media post about New Mexico’s name origins, writing that the name “carries generations of history, culture, and rich traditions that continue to shape who we are.” He added: “We are New Mexicans. We’re proud of our name, proud of our home, and we’re keeping both. Long after Donald Trump is out of office, we’ll still be New Mexico.”

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