The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the state of Florida have begun calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America (a new name promoted by Donald Trump), even though the body of water has not yet been officially renamed.
On Tuesday, in a flurry of executive orders signed by President Trump on his first day in office, the USCG announced it would deploy additional assets to multiple locations, including the “Texas-Mexico maritime border in the Gulf of America.” Similarly, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday cited the new designation in his executive order for the winter storm, saying “an area of low pressure was moving across the U.S. Gulf.”
The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico by the USCG and the state of Florida follows an executive order taken by President Trump on Monday, who claimed that renaming the ocean basin would honor “American greatness.”
“President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing a pillar of American civilization,” the executive order said, adding, “The region formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been vital to our once fast-growing nation. It has been an important asset and continues to be an important asset.” An indelible part of America. ”
The order requires the Secretary of the Interior to “take all appropriate actions” within 30 days to rename the 617,800 square mile watershed. The Geographic Name Information System (GNIS) is a federal database that stores official place names in the United States and is part of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) agency within the Department of the Interior. ‘ should also be updated to ‘reflect the information’. Rename the Gulf of Mexico and remove all references to it from the GNIS. ”
The Guardian has contacted the USCG and Mr. DeSantis’ office for comment.
There is no formal international protocol for naming ocean areas, but in theory President Trump’s order would be enough to change the names across official documents used in the United States. However, there is no need for other countries to follow suit.
The United States Board of Geographical Names, also part of the USGS, “does not recommend name changes unless there is a compelling reason.” Federal officials added that “changing a name solely to correct or reestablish historical usage is not in itself a reason to change the name.”
