...
By Monica Sager
Live News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it will update its data and charts to show the names "Gulf of America" and "Mount McKinley," according to a charting notice viewed by Newsweek, and Google Maps made similar changes later in the day.
Why It Matters
Since before the inauguration of his second term, Trump has floated the idea of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." On his first day in office, Trump signed an order doing just that.
Read More on News
He also reverted the name of Alaska's Mount Denali, the highest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley. The peak was called Mount McKinley until then-President Barack Obama changed it in 2015 to Denali, the traditional Athabascan name, in all federal documents.
Trump made these changes to "honor American greatness," the executive order said.
What To Know
The FAA released a charting notice to its aeronautical products and data service users on Monday to recognize the "geographic name changes" of the Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America" and from Mount Denali to "Mount McKinley."
"This Charting Notice implements President Trump's direction in Executive Order 14172, 'Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,' that the names be changed," the notice reads.
...
The "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness" order directed the secretary of the interior to formally rename the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico and update federal maps and documents accordingly.
The administration framed the move as part of a broader effort to restore what it called "American pride in the history of American greatness."
Gulf of America
The first reference to a change came at the beginning of January, when Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago home that his administration would change the water body's name to the "Gulf of America," which he said, "has a beautiful ring" to it, "because we do most of the work there and it's ours."
Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene had introduced a bill on January 9 to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." The bill draft reads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be required to update all documents and maps within 180 days.
During an interview with right-wing Real America's Voice network on Monday, Taylor Greene said she is worried that future Democrats would "wipe out" Trump's executive order to rename the water if Congress didn't act quickly.
Google Map users in the U.S. will soon see the update from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in their apps. By 5:30 p.m. EST, Google Maps changed to reflect the new order.
The rebranding was announced on January 27. The Gulf of Mexico name will remain in use in Mexican versions of Google Maps, and international users will see both names displayed side by side.
Florida was the first state to officially adopt the Gulf of America name when Governor Ron DeSantis used the term in an emergency declaration issued ahead of a winter storm.
On his flight to the Super Bowl, Trump declared February 9 as "Gulf of America Day."
Mount McKinley
The mountain is North America's tallest peak.
The 20,000-foot mountain, originally named Mount McKinley in 1917 to honor President William McKinley—assassinated in 1901—was renamed Denali in 2015 by Barack Obama. This name change had restored the original designation given by the Koyukon Athabascans, Indigenous people of western interior Alaska.
Denali, meaning "the great one" in Athabascan, was the name used by Native Alaskans for generations.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski previously posted to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize Trump's executive order, saying she "strongly disagrees with the decision."
What People Are Saying
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in the introduction of her bill: "It's our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it's what the entire world should refer to it as."
Senator Lisa Murkowski said on X: "I strongly disagree with the President's decision on Denali. Our nation's tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska's Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial."
**Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum posted to X on Sunday: "**It's official! Congratulations @POTUS on the Gulf of America! Interior has implemented your instruction from the Executive Order on Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness."
What's Next
The FAA's change will be "targeted for the next publication cycle," according to the charting notice.
Update: 2/10/25, 6:04 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines