Oklahoma approves naming of state highway after Trump

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) approved a measure naming a state highway after former President Donald Trump last week.
• GOP state lawmakers lobbied for the passing of the bill which faced objections from their Democrat counterparts.
• Numerous Republican legislators have also attempted to honor Trump by carrying his name in other instances.

Last week, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a measure that would name a state highway after former President Donald Trump.

GOP lawmakers in Oklahoma had incorporated the highway-naming in the bridge-and-highway-naming annual legislature, which also included a proposal to name an interchange before Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe (R).

The “President Donald J. Trump Highway,” a 20-mile stretch of US 287, was passed by the state legislators in April. In a report by the Oklahoman, a part of the highway will cross over from Boise City up to the Oklahoma-Texas border.

The bill faced backlash from Democratic lawmakers, with Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd arguing that the state policy stated that a person should be either a Medal of Honor recipient or should have passed away for at least three years to qualify the use of his/her name.

The GOP-dominated Senate, though, halted such rule, which enabled the bill to get passed.

During a debate on the proposal, bill author Oklahoma state Sen. Rob Standridge (R) argued that the highway-naming policy was already breached in previous times.

In a bid to show their admiration for the ex-president, numerous GOP legislators have attempted to use his name in other occasions.

Early this year, Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-FL.) suggested to rename US Highway 27 with “President Donald J. Trump Highway.” The proposal, though, did not survive at the committee level.

Last April, GOP politicians in Ohio tried to name a state park after Trump, after laying down a separate bill declaring Trump’s June 14th birthday as “Donald J. Trump Day.”

Such moves reportedly charmed the former president, as he also asked his officials about the possibility of naming an airport after him.

Source: PEOPLE