TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Lawmakers started moving forward Tuesday with a proposal that would give the state the power to put President Donald Trump’s name on a Palm Beach County airport, next to a road they renamed after him.
The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously backed a bill (SB 706) that would give authority to the state to name the seven major commercial service airports in Florida, with the only change proposed being Palm Beach International Airport becoming Donald J. Trump International Airport.
“As you know, President Trump is the first president that Florida has had in our country and our history, and I think it’s very appropriate for us to be naming one of the other icons in Palm Beach County after him,” bill sponsor Debbie Mayfield, R-Indialantic, said, referring to Trump being a Palm Beach County resident.
A staff analysis of the bill said Palm Beach County officials raised concerns about potential costs because the change would require rebranding, including such things as replacing signs. The analysis didn’t give an estimated cost.
[WATCH: Florida tests 46 candy bars. Here’s what it found]
A revision to the bill Tuesday, in part, clarified that the name change would be subject to approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Nick Iarossi, a lobbyist for Palm Beach County, pointed to Trump’s presence with golf courses and resorts in Florida, where he’s been a resident since 2019.
“He’s had a major impact, not just for the state but in Palm Beach County, and it’s an honor to push forward this legislation to rename the airport after him,” Iarossi told the committee.
Initially known as Morrison Field when the first commercial operations were conducted in 1936, the airport has been Palm Beach International Airport since 1948. The airport served as a military base during World War II and the Korean War. The county took over airport operations in 1959.
In 2021, as Trump reportedly asked advisers to get an airport named after him, and a former Republican Party of Florida leader suggested the West Palm Beach airport, the majority of the Palm Beach County Commission rejected the idea when asked by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
[WATCH: Ferrari once owned by Donald Trump featured at Mecum Auctions]
Mayfield said after Tuesday’s meeting that there would be a “huge economic impact” for the county.
“Air Force One stays at their airport. And so, it’s a big economic driver for them,” Mayfield said. “We’ve talked to the Trump people. There’s a lot of other things that are going to be happening at that airport that are going to be very positive for that airport. So that’s what changed their mind.”
A House version of the bill (HB 919) is scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee.
Mayfield’s bill would need approval from the Senate Community Affairs Committee and the Senate Rules Committee before reaching the Senate floor.
During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers designated a four-mile stretch of Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach County --- from Kirk Road, south of Palm Beach International Airport, to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club on South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach --- as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
Mayfield’s bill wouldn’t change the names of the other major airports in Florida: Orlando International Airport, Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport in Lee County and Jacksonville International Airport.