In a mostly party-aligned decision, the House voted 211-206 on Thursday to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” aiming to solidify President Donald Trump’s recent executive directive.
Only one GOP member, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, broke ranks and opposed the legislation, which was championed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Greene celebrated the bill, calling it “one of the most important things that we can do this Congress.”
Democrats slammed the move as a pointless distraction and criticized Republicans for squandering legislative attention.
“When the American people woke up this morning, they could reasonably ask the question, what are their elected representatives on the floor of the House of Representatives going to be debating?” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
At this stage, the Senate doesn’t appear eager to advance the bill. With the filibuster still in place, at least seven Democrats would need to cross over for the measure to pass. Questioned Thursday about whether the upper chamber would take up the issue, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota replied that he hadn’t considered it yet and asked, “Does it take Congress to do that?”
{Matzav.com}