Florida lawmakers pass bill to rename Palm Beach airport after Trump – National
The bill, SB 706, passed the state senate Thursday with 25 votes in favour and 11 votes against renaming the airport Donald J. Trump International Airport, two days after the Florida house approved it 81 votes to 30, over the objections of many Democrats.
The bill heads next to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not said whether he will sign it. If DeSantis signs the bill, it would then need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the name change would go into effect on July 1.
The renaming of the airport, minutes away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, could potentially cost upwards of US$5.5 million for a massive rebranding, Politico reports.
The White House celebrated the news on Friday, with its communications director, Steven Cheung, writing on X, “Has a GREAT ring to it… President Donald J. Trump International Airport”
The move comes days after the Trump family company filed to trademark the use of the U.S. president’s name on airports but said it didn’t plan on charging a fee — at least for a proposed renaming of one near his Florida home.
Applications filed by the Trump Organization with the federal trademark office are seeking exclusive rights to use the Trump name on airports and dozens of related things found there, from buses shuttling passengers to umbrellas and travel bags to flight suits.
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The filings come amid the debate in Florida over the state bill to name the Palm Beach airport after Trump, and a dispute over the funding of a tunnel between New York and New Jersey tied up with proposals that both it and the Dulles International Airport in Virginia bear his name.
“To be clear, the president and his family will not receive any royalty, licensing fee or financial consideration whatsoever from the proposed airport renaming,” the Trump Organization said in its statement.
Trump was “deeply honored that the people of Florida are considering renaming his hometown airport in his honor,” the organization added.
The Trumps wanted “to protect the name for Palm Beach County and the state of Florida, thus preventing bad actors from infringing upon or misusing the name,” the statement said.
The applications filed by a family company unit called DTTM Operations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are for the use of three names — President Donald J. Trump International Airport, Donald J. Trump International Airport and DJT.
U.S. congresswoman Lois Frankel, who represents West Palm Beach, called the move “misguided and unfair” in a statement, noting that Palm Beach County “deserves a voice before any airport renaming.”
“It’s misguided and unfair that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature ignored the voices of Palm Beach County by pushing forward a bill to rename Palm Beach International Airport without giving County residents a real opportunity for input,” Frankel said. “Decisions about naming major infrastructure should wait until after an honoree’s service has concluded—and should include meaningful input from the local residents and communities most directly affected.”
During the legislative debate, senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman said, “This bill exists for one reason: to satisfy one large ego. And satisfying that ego isn’t free.”
Meanwhile, Debbie Mayfield, the bill’s senate co-sponsor, said, “Regardless of your personal view on the president, his record speaks for itself — President Trump has delivered meaningful results for Florida and the United States.”
“Fifty years from now, when we’re all not in this chamber and maybe not here on this earth, we’re going to look back and recognize what this president, this sitting president, did to save America,” Florida state senator Danny Burgess said during the debate.
“This is the President’s hometown, he lives five miles away from the airport,” said bill co-sponsor Florida Rep. Meg Weinberger, according to NBC affiliate WESH.
Trump’s name has already been added to the former John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which resulted in multiple artist cancellations following the board’s decision to add his name to the building.
In December 2025, the Cookers, a jazz group performing together for nearly two decades, pulled out of a planned New Year’s Eve concert, titled A Jazz New Year’s Eve.
A touring production of the hit musical Hamilton also cancelled performances scheduled for March.
“The recent purge by the Trump Administration of both professional staff and performing arts events at or originally produced by the Kennedy Center flies in the face of everything this national center represents,” producer Jeffrey Seller wrote in a statement on X at the time.
Earlier this month, Trump announced that the performing arts centre will close for two years to undergo extensive renovations.
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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