A new kind of Gulf war: Nick DiCeglie wants to adopt Trump-backed ‘Gulf of America’

Nick DiCeglie said the changes in SB 280 will bring sensible and consistent regulation to a the vacation rental industry while still allowing local governments to enforce local rules. Image via Colin Hackley/Florida Politics.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie wants Florida to follow President Donald Trump’s lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

DiCeglie filed legislation (SB 608) that would change 92 statutory references in Florida law to refer to the body of water along Florida’s west coast as the Gulf of America.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we have the opportunity to honor America’s greatness by embracing the Gulf of America,” DiCeglie said. “This body of water has long been essential to the livelihood of Pinellas County, supporting our fishing industry, local businesses, and vibrant tourism sector. By updating Florida’s statutes to reflect this new designation, we are reinforcing President Trump’s bold vision and ensuring the Gulf’s significance is recognized at the state level.”

The legislation would comply with Trump’s Executive Order 14172, called “Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness.”

Trump ordered the federal government to “take all appropriate actions to rename as the ‘Gulf of America’ the U.S. Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the State of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf of Mexico.”

DiCeglie’s bill references the President’s directive, which says the move recognizes the “importance of the body of water to the United States.” Senate leadership is on board.

“Florida stands with President Trump and his decisive action to honor our great country by remaining the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America,” Senate President Ben Albritton said. “About 770 miles of coastline in our state border the Gulf, and its waters have always been critical to our economy, in particular our tourism, aquaculture, and maritime industries. Naming this amazing body of water the Gulf of America highlights its tremendous value to our state and nation.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis already pushed the new name in an Executive Order (EO 25-13) as last month’s Winter storm approached the state.

The name change became official nationally on Monday and Trump declared Feb. 9 “Gulf of America Day.”

Google Maps this week also updated to reflect the name change for people using its product within the U.S. Users in Mexico will continue to see “Gulf of Mexico” displayed, while those everywhere else will see both names, with “Gulf of America” appearing in parentheses below “Gulf of Mexico.”

Google announced in late January that it would make the change the next time it updated its map, honoring a “longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

Apple has not yet made a change to its maps.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has previously quipped that, if the U.S. renames the Gulf of Mexico, she would begin referring to the U.S. as “Mexican America.” Internationally, other countries are not required to honor the name change, but it would create potential discrepancies that would need to be mediated by international organizations, according to USA Today.

Should DiCeglie’s bill pass, the changes to Florida statute would take effect July 1.