Florida lawmakers vote to rename Palm Beach airport after Trump

By Jasper Ward

Feb 19 (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Florida approved legislation on Thursday renaming the Palm Beach International Airport after U.S. President Donald Trump.

The 25-11 vote in Florida’s Senate came days after the state’s House of Representatives passed the measure 81-30.

Republican lawmakers largely supported the bill, while Democrats objected to the airport rebrand.

“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,” said U.S. Representative Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents West Palm Beach.

The bill heads next to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who has not said whether he will sign it. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The White House declined to comment. Spokespeople for Palm Beach County and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The decision to rename the airport after Trump follows Florida’s approval last year of a plan to donate a downtown Miami property for the site of Trump’s presidential library.

Trump, a native of New York, moved to Florida in 2019. Before the move, he lived in a penthouse at Trump Tower but has since taken primary residence at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Sonali Paul)