'The very definition of waste': the Trump obsession burning money and time

Over the course of his second term, President Donald Trump has repeatedly renamed geographical features and landmarks after the United States and himself. Most recently, this included an order that Lake Ontario be changed to “Lake America” – a move that came with no small amount of diplomatic and political cost. But according to new reporting by Newsweek, the expenses tied to swapping those seven letters could mount in a more practical sense, burning great deals of time and money. As one expert put it, it is “the very definition of waste.”

While the Trump administration is moving forward with the name change, as Newsweek explains, “Past accounting on the president’s sweeping federal rebrand indicates that this could prove a costly effort for the American taxpayers to bear.” There are obvious expenses associated with the change, like updating naming on signage and mapping software, but these costs are expected to grow. According to Newsweek, “Replacing geographic nomenclature across all civilian agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would place a major administrative cost on the departments, which are made to comply with the order.”

Newsweek spoke with Linda Bilmes, a senior lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and former chief financial officer for the Department of Commerce, who noted that such changes are "not as straightforward as one might imagine." She experienced it firsthand during her time on the National Park Service Advisory Board, and explained that these decisions are accompanied by "numerous administrative costs." Beyond the man-hours involved in updating the GNIS and other websites, she noted the need to change printed materials like maps and brochures, as well as the "physical labor hours involved in changing all the road signage, park signage, plaques, trail maps, trail markers, etc."

According to Robert Corradino, mayor of Oswego, New York, "Even a conservative estimate suggests that updating signage, maps, tourism materials, and other public references would cost several thousand dollars." For a small city of only 17,000, he said, such an expense "represents a significant and unnecessary financial burden at a time when we are focused on maintaining essential services and keeping taxes stable." Although Corradino is a Republican, he released a statement last week declaring that the city’s government does not support Trump’s executive order and sees no reason to alter the lake’s name.

Philip G. Joyce, a professor of public policy at Maryland University and former Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyst, said that reaching a precise estimate for this aggregate expense "would be difficult or impossible," though he noted that there will likely be "a ripple effect to these things which could create costs for any organization that must adapt to the change." According to Newsweek, “A useful comparison comes from the CBO concerning the ‘Gulf of America’ change, adopted on the first day of Trump’s second term. In analysis of a bill aimed at codifying the January 20 executive order, the nonpartisan agency said that it would cost up to $500,000 over five years to update all necessary federal documents and maps. During debates in May, however, Democrats on the House Rules Committee noted that there would also be major associated outlays for the nation’s schools and municipal services.” Others have noted that the change could “disrupt decades of environmental data sets and scientific collaboration, while costing agencies and researchers millions of dollars.”

With all this in mind, said Joyce, "The important question, it seems to me, is whether there is any substantive benefit to a given name change.” He told Newsweek that any rebrand which fails to lower costs, improve government performance or offer citizens any "substantive benefit" would "represent the very definition of waste."

Since Trump reentered office, writes Newsweek, “the executive branch began renaming a number of departments and geographical landmarks as part of its wider strategy to ‘honor American greatness.’ The change from Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ fell within this project, as did switching Department of Defense to ‘Department of War.’ The latter, according to CBO estimates, could end up costing between $10 million for a ‘modest implementation’ and $125 million if enacted ‘broadly and rapidly throughout the department.’ Were Congress to make the change statutory through official legislation, CBO said this ‘could cost hundreds of millions of dollars’ depending on how it was carried out.”

Polling shows that Americans do not like Trump’s renaming spree, with only 14 percent supporting his Lake Ontario switch. Over the weekend, however, the president posted that "Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA. So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!"