Trump orders Gulf of Mexico to be renamed Gulf of America

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and reinstating the name Mount McKinley to the Denali in Alaska.

The order, signed on Monday, cites a “national interest” to promote U.S. heritage and “celebrate the legacy of American heroes.”

The order directs the Secretary of the Interior to take all appropriate actions to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America within the U.S. Continental Shelf. This area is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and extends to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba.

The Secretary has 30 days to update the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) with the new name, ensuring that all references to the Gulf of Mexico are replaced with the Gulf of America.

“The area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America,” said Trump’s order. “In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum previously responded to Trump’s comments on the name change, jokingly suggesting that the U.S. should be renamed “Mexican America” while standing in front of a colonial-era map during a daily press conference.

The order also reinstates the previous name of the United States’ highest mountain, Mount Denali, to Mount McKinley. The mountain was initially named Mount McKinley in 1917, but President Obama changed it to Denali in 2015.

“President William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, heroically led our Nation to victory in the Spanish-American War. Under his leadership, the United States enjoyed rapid economic growth and prosperity, including an expansion of territorial gains for the Nation,” the order states. “President McKinley championed tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing, boost domestic production, and drive U.S. industrialization and global reach to new heights.”

“He was tragically assassinated in an attack on our Nation’s values and our success, and he should be honored for his steadfast commitment to American greatness,” the order continues. “After nearly a century, President Obama’s administration, in 2015, stripped the McKinley name from federal nomenclature, an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements, and his sacrifice.”

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski expressed opposition to the name change, according to Politico. “It is called Denali, which means the great one. So I would just suggest to President Trump, who wants to make everything great, they already have a great name for it,” she said.