President Donald Trump’s name already has been attached to the Kennedy Center, the U.S. Institute of Peace and a new class of Navy battleships. Now he reportedly wants to rename Washington’s Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station after himself, too.
According to reporting from ABC News, Punchbowl and CNN. Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that he would unfreeze $16 billion in funds for a New York infrastructure project if Schumer backs the renamings.
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Trump has blocked funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project, which would connect New York City and New Jersey via nine miles of new passenger rail track. It also includes rehabilitating the North River Tunnel. Officials overseeing the project said Thursday they had stopped construction because money had run out.
Schumer reportedly rejected Trump’s offer and noted it was beyond his authority to advance the request. Schumer’s office did not respond to Straight Arrow News’ request for comment.
Trump’s mark on DC
If the airport and station were renamed, they would join the growing list of public buildings bearing the Trump name.
Some of those name changes have been controversial.
Trump’s name was added to the U.S. Institute for Peace after he dismissed its president and nearly all its staff and board members.
The institute’s staff sued the administration, saying Trump lacked the authority to fire leadership because Congress created the USIP. They added that the name change “added insult to injury.”
Similarly, the decision to change the Kennedy Center’s name has come under fire from politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, sued Trump and the center’s board over the vote to rename the center.
She argued the name is written into federal law, meaning only Congress can change it.
“This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order,” the complaint states.
Trump’s name is also showing up in other areas of government. He announced plans for a new class of massive U.S. warships, labeling it “Trump-class.” Most recently, Trump unveiled a new website, TrumpRx, aimed at lowering drug prices for Americans.
White House changes
The president has also made significant changes to the White House, but those do not involve his name. Since moving back in, the president demolished the East Wing to make room for a new ballroom, renovated the Oval Office and paved over the Rose Garden.
He also created a “presidential walk of fame” along the West Colonnade, which displays photos and descriptions of all past presidents. However, instead of a photo of former President Joe Biden, it’s a photo of his autopen.
Some of the descriptions under the presidents’ photos, however, were written by Trump and include his own opinion of that president.
For example, the plaque beneath Biden’s portrait labels him “Sleepy Joe,” calls him “by far, the worst President in American History.” It repeats Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
