If we had a nickel for every time House Republicans have made it a legislative priority to rename Dulles Airport after President Trump in the past year, we would officially be one dime closer to affording a carton of eggs. US Representative Addison McDowell, a Republican who represents North Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District, urged the rebrand to Donald J. Trump International Airport via his introduction of HR 691 on Thursday—a substantively identical bill to HR 7845, which was introduced by US Representative Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania last March before it died in committee.
In a press release to announce the legislation, McDowell says, “It is only right that the two airports servicing our nation’s capital are duly honored and respected by two of the best presidents to have the honor of serving our great nation”—a nod to Arlington’s Reagan National Airport, an homage to another president for whom Washingtonians overwhelmingly did not vote.
Reschenthaler is a consponsor of McDowell’s bill, along with three more Republicans: US Representatives Brandon Gill of Texas, Riley Morre of West Virginia, and Brian Jack of Georgia. Reschenthaler says in the press release that renaming Dulles after Trump would “cement his status in our nation’s capital as our fearless commander-in-chief, extraordinary leader, and relentless champion for the American people.” The proposed legislation does not address the pouring rights agreement between the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and PepsiCo: Perhaps it is worth considering whether Trump would be comfortable tying his legacy to a facility that contractually may not stock its vending machines with Diet Coke.
Discouraging news for this coalition: US Representative Gerry Connolly—a Democrat who represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, which includes Dulles—is still not on board with the idea.
“When Republicans tried the first time to name Dulles after Donald Trump, I said it would be a better fit for the federal prison nearest to Mar-a-Lago to bear his name,” Connolly tells Washingtonian in an emailed statement. “I still can think of no more fitting an honor for our first convicted felon President.”
Maybe it’s time for Democrats to get to work renaming Leesburg Executive Airport, located a 20-minute drive north of Dulles. The tiny public-use airport was inundated with private jet traffic during inauguration weekend.
Dulles is currently named for John Foster Dulles, secretary of state under President Dwight Eisenhower—whose administration selected the plot of land on which the airport is situated, if anybody cares.
