Lauren Boebert threatens renaming DC to ‘District of America’ after mockery over Gulf of Mexico by Dems

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Lauren Boebert (R-Colo) is stirring up controversy once again, this time by suggesting that Washington, DC, could undergo a name change.

During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Boebert defended President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and urged Democratic lawmakers to stop joking about it. She even hinted that the nation’s capital might be next, The Hill reported.

Lauren Boebert floats idea of renaming DC to ‘District of America’

“I would caution my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to refrain from making jokes about the Gulf of America,” Lauren Boebert said. “Because next up may be the District of America that we are working on.”

"So just, you know, keep the jokes at bay, and maybe we'll just stick with the Gulf of America for now," she added. 

Her comments came during a legislative discussion on the Gulf of America Act, a measure intended to solidify Trump’s executive order. The move to rename the Gulf of Mexico was one of Trump’s early second-term actions, alongside reversing the name of Alaska's Denali mountain back to Mount McKinley.

Donald Trump calls out DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s leadership

The discussion over DC’s future name is tied to a broader Republican-led effort to curb the city’s self-governance. Trump has long been critical of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), citing crime and homelessness as reasons for greater federal control over the city.

His allies in Congress are actively working toward that goal. Sen Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep Andy Ogles (R-Tenn) introduced the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, a bill aimed at dismantling the Home Rule Act, which grants DC limited self-governance.

On March 14, Trump delivered a speech at the Justice Department (DOJ) while addressing the district. Trump reinforced his stance during a speech saying, “We’re cleaning up our city. We’re cleaning up this great capital, and we’re not going to stand for crime. We’re going to take the graffiti down and we’re already taken to tents down there.”

He also warned that if the current administration failed, “we’re gonna have to take it back and run it through the federal government.”

A week before making those remarks, Trump directed Bowser to take down the Black Lives Matter plaza located across from the White House, a site the BOWSER Act has proposed renaming as Liberty Plaza. Although the lettering has been taken down, Congress has yet to vote on the official renaming of the street.

DC mayor pushes back against congressional interference

Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke out against efforts by Congress to limit the city’s autonomy, calling attention to a budget crisis that nearly placed the district in a $1.1 billion deficit.

The issue arose from a continuing resolution that sought to roll back DC's budget to its 2024 levels, a move spearheaded by House GOP members. Bowser, emphasizing that the district is not a federal agency, pushed back against the proposal.

“We are not a federal agency,” Bowser said. “We are a city, county, and state all at once and we provide direct services to the people of the District of Columbia, visitors to the District of Columbia, businesses in the District of Columbia, diplomats and visiting heads of state and everyone who works here in the Congress," she added.

In response to the backlash, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) introduced a bill to correct the budget oversight. The measure was successfully passed on March 14, preventing a financial shortfall and restoring stability to the district’s operations.

Lauren Boebert’s 'District of America' name proposal for DC sparks backlash online

Lauren Boebert’s recent proposal to rename Washington, DC, as the "District of America" has sparked intense online backlash, with critics questioning both the logic and historical awareness behind the suggestion.

Many users mocked the idea, with one writing, “Does she realize it isn’t District of Colombia as in the country? It’s District of Columbia as in Christopher Columbus?”

Another sarcastically asked, “Because MAGA is against Columbus now?”

Others took direct aim at Boebert herself, with one person commenting, “@RepBoebert, You should refrain from speaking, halfwit.”

Meanwhile, someone stated, “She’s so dumb. And you know that she didn’t even write than line herself. One of her incompetent staff did.”

One wrote, “She’s so cringe."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.