March 30 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron Desantis on Monday signed a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump, a change that will go into effect in July.
The Florida Legislature last month passed a bill to rename PBI as “The President Donald J. Trump International Airport” once the Federal Aviation Administration approves the change, which is required for maps, flight plans and controllers, CBS-12 and WPBF reported.
The bill also allows Florida officials to rename Orlando International Airport and Miami International Airport, no move has been made to change either one.
Republican Florida state Rep. Meg Weinberger said the change honors the “leadership and legacy” of Trump’s two terms in office and believes that her district, West Palm Beach, supports the change, FloridaPolitics.com reported.
“He’s a two-term president,” Weinberger said. “It will happen in his lifetime. Why not honor him while he’s the president in his hometown? And this is the first president that we’ve had in Florida.”
Trump has renamed a number of federal buildings to include his name, most recently the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and has talked about having airports and other travel hubs renamed for him.
In January, the Trump administration unsuccessfully attempted to cut a deal with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to release infrastructure funding for New York City if he backed an effort to rename Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., and Penn Station in New York City.
On Friday, the Treasury Department announced that at some point this year, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, Trump signature would appear on dollar bills, although there has not been any indication of what denominations and for how long it be there.
Trump also has discussed a new Trump-class of battleships and the U.S. military’s sixth generation fighter aircraft is expected to be referred to as the F-47, in reference to the president’s second term in office.
The Trump Organization in February filed to claim patents on the names “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” “The Donald J. Trump International Airport” and “DJT” as an airport code, The New York Times reported.
The Trump Organization also filed for names to use on airport-themed merchandise, but said it “will not receive any royalty, licensing fee or financial consideration whatsoever” after PBI is renamed.
Weinberger also played a role in the renaming of a four-mile stretch of road between PBI and Mar-a-Lago as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard” earlier this year, CNN reported.
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