Florida became the first state to officially call the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing federal agencies to refer to it by its new name.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, while issuing an emergency declaration Monday before a winter storm forecast to hit the northern part of the state, referred to the gulf by the new name, saying that an "area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America" will interact with Arctic air to bring freezing rain and snow to the state, Newsweek reported Tuesday.
Trump's order directs the incoming secretary of the interior to rename the gulf on federal communications and official maps. Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was nominated by Trump for the Cabinet position.
Trump announced the gulf renaming during his inauguration speech Monday.
"America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world," he said.
The order also reinstated the name of Alaska's Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. The mountain, the tallest in North America, was federally recognized as Denali, the name that was used by the Koyukon Alaska Native people, in 2015 during the Obama administration.
The order gives federal agencies 30 days to start updating documents and maps to reflect the gulf's new name, but legislative action could follow to formalize the name in U.S. law.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., this month introduced a bill to rename the gulf, writing in a statement on X: "The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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