Several Republican members of Congress introduced a bill to rename Washington Dulles International Airport for former President Trump. HR 7845, which is apparently a real thing, would make Dulles the second DC-area airport named for a President who was broadly unpopular in the region. And people say the 118th Congress is unproductive!
US Representative Guy Reschenthaler, who represents Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District, introduced the bill, whose cosponsors include representatives Paul Gosar, Troy Nehls, and Andy Ogles, among others. In a press release, Reschenthaler says, “As millions of domestic and international travelers fly through the airport, there is no better symbol of freedom, prosperity, and strength than hearing ‘Welcome to Trump International Airport’ as they land on American soil.” (Speaking as someone who lands there with some frequency, I’d be happy if someone could figure out how to get rid of the people movers or speed up the customs and immigration process, but okay.)
“One of my first memories of the Trump presidency is when I went to help terrified people at Dulles airport whose family members, some of whom were grandparents, were detained for hours after Donald Trump imposed his first Muslim Ban,” US Representative Don Beyer, who represents Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District, tells Washingtonian in an e-mail. “Many of the people who were detained were permanent American residents, persecuted by the full force of their own government under Donald Trump not for anything they did wrong, but because of their faith. I also remember Republicans – like those who just introduced legislation to rename this airport after Trump – hiding and giving mealy mouthed responses when asked about the chaos and suffering Trump’s bigotry caused. They know our airport will never be named after Trump, but that’s not the point, the point is to suck up to their Dear Leader.”
As Beyer notes, the proposal has approximately zero chance of becoming law at a time when Republicans control only the House of Representatives by the slimmest of margins, but it could be a useful marker for the type of thing that Washingtonians may see a lot of if Trump wins re-election this fall.
Dulles was originally named Dulles International Airport for John Foster Dulles, who was…not great. Congress renamed the airport Washington Dulles International Airport in 1984, on the supposition that some people could mix it up with Dallas. In 1990, former US Senator Bob Dole proposed renaming it for former President Eisenhower. In 2021, a Georgetown University student proposed renaming Reagan National Airport for YouTube star Jojo Siwa, and while a petition to do garnered more than 80,000 signatures, the Gipper’s name remains on the building (though many Washingtonians still call it National anyway).
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
