During Wednesday’s House Natural Resources Committee’s markup of the Gulf of America Act of 2025, which aimed to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” Democratic members proposed several amendments that were clearly intended as satirical jabs at the bill.
These included suggestions to rename the Gulf as the “Gulf of Ignorance,” and “The Gulf of America Should Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords,” and even an amendment to rename Earth itself “Planet Trump.”
Other mocking amendments included the “Gulf of Mexico Stays” and “Gulf of Corporate Greed.”
While the amendments were not seen as serious attempts to change the name, they did cause significant delays. The committee rejected all of them, and the bill moved forward with a 24-17 vote.
Early in his second term, President Donald Trump by executive order changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico. It is now officially the Gulf of America, and the bill debated this week seeks to make the change permanent.
“While Democrats tried to bog down today’s markup with nonsense amendments, committee Republicans took decisive action to advance a slate of legislation,” said Congressman Bruce Westerman, chairman of the committee. The committee also delisted the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list, and modernized the Endangered Species Act.
“We streamlined burdensome regulatory processes and advanced legislation to support local broadband and energy development. These legislative solutions and others put Americans first and represent the diverse array of issues we champion here on committee every day,” Westerman said.
