'We're better than this': GOP rep may sink 'juvenile' Trump bill renaming Gulf of Mexico
After President Donald Trump issued an executive order designating that the Gulf of Mexico was to be referred to as the "Gulf of America," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) aimed to make the name change official in Congress. But one member of the House Republican Conference could derail that effort.
CNN reported Tuesday that the "Gulf of America Act" is meeting an obstacle in the form of Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb..). The Nebraska Republican, who is considered one of the more moderate members of his party, told the network that the legislation "seems juvenile."
“We’re the United States of America. We’re not Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany or Napoleon’s France," Bacon said. "I just – we’re better than this. It just sounds like a sophomore thing to do.”
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In addition to Bacon, other Republicans are also indicating that they may not support the bill either. Reps. Glenn Grothman (R-Wisc.) and Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) have also expressed hesitation about the proposed name change. Republicans only have a 220-213 majority in the House, meaning that if just one more Republican joins those three, the bill won't pass through the chamber.
And while the bill faces a tough road to passage in the House, it's even less likely to make it through the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber of Congress, and Senate rules make it so the opposition party can prevent any bill from passing that doesn't meet a 60-vote threshold.
Trump has insisted that members of the White House press pool refer to the Gulf of Mexico by the name he chose for the body of water, and even excluded the Associated Press (AP) from covering the White House due to its refusal to use Trump's preferred name. The AP has argued that it is a global brand with an audience that includes readers from around the world, and that the international community has referred to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of years.
The "Gulf of America" debate has stretched back to at least 2012, when then-Mississippi state representative Steve Holland (D) suggested renaming the body of water as a way to mock Republicans over immigration policy.
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Click here to read CNN's full report.
