By David Shepardson
March 30 (Reuters) – Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Monday to rename the Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump, the latest in a series of buildings, institutions, government programs, warships and money to bear the U.S. president’s name.
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.
Before the name can be changed, a formal request must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, which then must process the change in various flight charting and navigation databases, and the airport signs must be changed.
Last week, Representative Brian Mast introduced legislation to change the airport’s three-letter code from PBI to DJT denoting Trump’s initials.
The U.S. Treasury said last week that American paper currency will bear Trump’s signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money.
Trump’s name has also been affixed to a planned class of Navy warships, a visa program for wealthy foreigners, a government-run prescription drug website, and federal savings accounts for children.
In December, the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Trump filled with allies during a board takeover, added Trump’s name to the institution.
Trump’s name was also added in December to the United States Institute of Peace building in Washington, months after his administration seized the nonprofit organization and all but closed it.
Earlier this month, a federal arts panel comprised of members appointed by Trump approved a commemorative gold coin featuring his image, part of a series of coins the U.S. Mint is planning to produce to celebrate America’s 250th birthday this year.
In February, the White House confirmed Trump raised the idea of dropping his hold on funding for a New York Hudson River tunnel project in exchange for Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer supporting renaming of Washington Dulles Airport and New York Penn Station after Trump.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)
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