DeSantis signs bill to rename Florida airport after Trump

DeSantis didn’t hold a public bill signing event as he continues to mend fences with Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago Club sits east of the airport.

Trump’s son Eric Trump praised the signing on X, where he thanked DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, bill sponsor Rep. Meg Weinberger, R-Palm Beach Gardens, and “the overwhelming majority in the Florida House!” 

The House voted 81-30 along party lines in support of the bill. The Senate vote was 25-11, also along party lines.

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, called the measure a misdirection of priorities by state lawmakers.

“Instead of working across the aisle with us to advance those bills, Republican leaders decided to prioritize wasting five million of your taxpayer dollars on renaming an airport after the President,” Driskell wrote in a statement on Monday.

“The people of Florida did not ask for this,” Driskell added. “It’s clear Tallahassee Republicans care more about political stunts than they care about your wallet.”

When the bill was on the Senate floor, Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, the Senate bill sponsor, said Trump deserves the honor for cracking down on illegal immigration by deporting more than 400,000 undocumented migrants and forcing Canada and Mexico to restrain fentanyl trafficking into the country.

“It is an honor for me to present this bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport after the first Florida resident to be elected President of the United States,” Mayfield said during the Feb. 19 floor session.

In response to criticism against naming roads and structures for sitting lawmakers, Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin suggested during the same floor session that the airport renaming is based upon Trump’s first term.

“He served as the 45th president. He’s currently serving as the 47th president,” Martin said. “I don’t think that he should be penalized, or we should wait simply because people re-elected him. He finished his first term years and years ago, we can go ahead and honor him now and it’s completely timely.”

The law, effective July 1, also prevents local governments from renaming several airports throughout the state, including Orlando International Airport, Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport in Lee County and Jacksonville International Airport.

The name change is subject to approval by the Federal Aviation Administration and the execution of an agreement between Palm Beach County and the trademark holder authorizing the commercial use of the name Donald J. Trump International Airport.

The bill advanced as DTTM Operations LLC, a Delaware-based entity managed by The Trump Organization, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week for “intent to use” the names “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” “Donald J. Trump International Airport,” and “DJT.”

Mayfield maintained that Trump isn’t going to charge the airport for royalties or any fees to use the name.

While lawmakers still have to return to complete the budget for the next fiscal year, the Senate’s proposed spending plan before the regular session ended on March 13 included $2.75 million to cover the cost of changing signs and other items across the West Palm Beach complex, which annually handles around 8.6 million passengers.

The line item was half of the $5.5 million requested by Mayfield.

Included in Mayfield’s funding request was $250,000 for rebranding consultants involving overhead announcements, emergency messaging and telephone system updates. Another $250,000 is sought to rebrand equipment, vehicles, marketing materials and uniforms.

Separate bills that have yet to be sent to DeSantis name Commercial Boulevard within Lauderdale-by-the-Sea as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard” (HB 33) and name the 124-miles of State Road 80 from Palm Beach County to Lee County as “President Donald J. Trump Highway” (SB 628).

The state road designation is part of a larger transportation package that also adds the late Florida State University Football Coach Bobby Bowden’s name to Tallahassee International Airport.