Among the first executive orders he will sign President-elect Donald Trump The Gulf of Mexico shall be designated the “Gulf of America.”
At a January press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump declared he would change his namesaying that today the gulf is run by the cartels and that it is “ours”.
“We’re going to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of land, the Gulf of America,” Trump said. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico needs to stop pouring millions of people into our country.”
Presidents have the power to designate regions and geographic features, but it must be done by executive order.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a dinner at the Building Museum on Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington, as Melania Trump listens.
Evan Vucci/AP
The US Council on Geographic Names typically has jurisdiction over geographic names.
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest and most important bodies of water in North America. It is the ninth largest body of water in the world and covers about 600,000 square kilometers.
Half of US oil refining and natural gas processing capacity is in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it supplies about 40% of the nation’s seafood, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.