WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s agenda seems stalled on Capitol Hill, so House Republican leaders are taking aim at the Gulf of Mexico instead.
On Thursday, the House will vote on the Gulf of America Act, a measure to formalize Trump’s controversial desire for a name change that's been sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right firebrand from Georgia.
Introducing the bill in January, Greene said: “The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries.
“It’s our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America, and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as.”
More recently, she said she wanted legislative action because she represented a frustrated Republican base, “and when I’m frustrated and upset over the direction of things, you better be clear, the base is not happy.”
As usual as MTG speaks, Democrats are rolling their eyes — or cursing.
“It's all-around pathetic,” Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) told Raw Story. “They claim they have a mandate, they claim they want to drive results for people, and then we're focusing on Google Maps? Like, what the f—?”
‘Anything but talk about the economy’
It’s Trump’s fifth month back in the White House, yet Republicans in control of the House and the Senate have only sent him five bills — three of which merely unwound Biden-era regulations — to sign into law.
Trump wants “one big, beautiful bill,” containing his whole agenda of cuts to taxes, spending and government regulations. But that effort has reached an impasse as Republicans keep warring over big-ticket items like Medicaid cuts or whether or not to pay for extending Trump’s expiring first–term tax cuts.
The economy is in need of a boost, businesses are eager for certainty, farmers are braced for tariffs fallout and U.S. allies are searching for new trading partners — and GOP leaders are devoting precious floor time to MTG’s Gulf of America Act.
Many Democrats find that laughable.
“It’s definitely why I ran for Congress, not to, like, save lives or anything,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), a member of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) so-called Squad of vocal progressives, told Raw Story.
Others say Greene’s bill is merely a smokescreen, designed to distract from civil war among Republicans, as far-right Freedom Caucus members demand steep cuts to federal programs like Medicaid, and more moderate Republicans maneuver to protect such spending.
“Anything to divert attention from the reality of governing,” said Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA).
Neal is the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax law. From that perch, he says it’s obvious why his counterparts are moving MTG’s Gulf of America Act, even though there is just two-and-a-half weeks to go until the Memorial Day recess.
“It’s another effort to get us away from a stalled economy,” Neal said. “That’s what this is all about. Every day there’s another new outrage. They’ll do anything but talk about the economy.”
‘The worst thing that happened to this Congress’
Democrats, it seems, will do anything but work with Greene.
On Tuesday, a vote to proceed to debating the Gulf of America Act passed with support from 213 Republicans. Not a single Democrat backed it, in no small part because of its author.
“I don't think this really matters in the grand scheme of things. Change it to the Gulf of America all you want, but I'm never gonna help Marjorie Taylor Greene do anything,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) told Raw Story.
Why?
“She's kryptonite. She's the worst thing that happened to this Congress. And she's the worst thing to happen to the Republican Party, quite frankly.”
Don’t tell that to GOP leaders who reward rank-and-file party members by bringing bills to the House floor for formal recorded votes.
Democrats say it’s obvious Republican leaders are trying not just to appease Trump but also to placate Greene, who tried to oust Speaker Mike Johnson last year.
“The fact that they even allow her to bring this stuff forward speaks volumes,” Ryan said.
“Knowing how this place works, like, that's the bill we got on the floor? Like we can't get my more health coverage for military families bill, that's bipartisan? Or 1,000 other good bills?”
Also read: 'This is our shot': Dems believe MTG's new job gives 'golden opportunity' to destroy GOP
