Trump administration says Gulf of Mexico officially renamed Gulf of America – live

May Be Interested In:Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem tells immigrant rights groups: 'Get your priorities straight'


Interior department says Gulf of Mexico officially renamed Gulf of America

The Trump administration’s interior department said it has officially changed the change of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Alaska’s mountain Denali, the highest peak in North America, has officially been renamed Mount McKinley – the name it was called before Barack Obama changed it in 2015, the department said in a statement.

Donald Trump, on his first day in office on Monday, signed an order to rename the 617,800 sq mile Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s 20,000ft mountain Denali. The interior department said:

In accordance with President Donald J Trump’s recent executive order, the Department of the Interior is proud to announce the implementation of name restorations that honor the legacy of American greatness, with efforts already under way. As directed by the president, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America’s highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley.

Share

Updated at 

Key events

The supreme court has agreed to consider whether the country’s first publicly funded religious charter school should be allowed to open in Oklahoma.

The case, led by two Catholic dioceses, could open the door to allowing public funds to directly flow to religious schools and transform the line between church and state in education.

A lower court blocked the establishment of St Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, ruling that its funding arrangement violated the constitution’s first amendment limits on government endorsement of religion.

The online school had planned to start classes for its first enrollees last fall, with part of its mission to evangelize its students in the Catholic faith.

Charter schools in Oklahoma are considered public schools under state law and draw funding from the state government.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett has recused herself from the case but did not explain why.

Share

Donald Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Mount Denali as Mount McKinley on Monday, something he promised earlier this month at a press conference.

In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump said the former Republican president William McKinley “made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent – he was a natural businessman”.

While Trump can direct the US geological survey to change how it denotes the Gulf of Mexico, such a name change would be unlikely to be recognized internationally.

The Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Galveston, Texas, in 2023. Photograph: Jill Karnicki/AP
Share

Updated at 

Interior department says Gulf of Mexico officially renamed Gulf of America

The Trump administration’s interior department said it has officially changed the change of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Alaska’s mountain Denali, the highest peak in North America, has officially been renamed Mount McKinley – the name it was called before Barack Obama changed it in 2015, the department said in a statement.

Donald Trump, on his first day in office on Monday, signed an order to rename the 617,800 sq mile Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s 20,000ft mountain Denali. The interior department said:

In accordance with President Donald J Trump’s recent executive order, the Department of the Interior is proud to announce the implementation of name restorations that honor the legacy of American greatness, with efforts already under way. As directed by the president, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America’s highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley.

Share

Updated at 

The justice department chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, has issued an order to curtail prosecutions against people accused of blocking reproductive rights facilities.

In a memo on Friday, Mizelle wrote that prosecutions and civil actions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (Face) Act will now be permitted only in “extraordinary circumstances” or in cases presenting ”significant aggravating factors”, AP reports. He said:

President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of ending the weaponization of the federal government and has recently directed all federal departments and agencies to identify and correct the past weaponization of law enforcement.

Mizelle also ordered the immediate dismissal of three civil Face Act cases related to blockades of clinics in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

It comes a day after Trump announced he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.

Share

Updated at 

Marina Dunbar

Donald Trump’s pledge to rename the highest mountain in North America has sparked backlash among some Indigenous Alaskans and Alaskan lawmakers, including Republicans.

Trump reiterated his intentions to rename Denali back to Mount McKinley during his inaugural address. Barack Obama had dubbed the mountain Denali during his presidency, undoing the 1917 designation made in honor of the 25th president, William McKinley.

The declaration of renaming has proved to be highly controversial. The Koyukon, an Alaska Indigenous Athabascan group, referred to the mountain as Denali for centuries before McKinley took office or Alaska became a US state.

Alaska News Source reported research that suggested that Alaskans are against changing the name back to McKinley by about a two-to-one margin, despite Alaska being a state that is overwhelmingly supportive of Republicans.

A boat on the Susitna River near Talkeetna, Alaska, on 13 June 2021, with Denali in the background. Photograph: Mark Thiessen/AP
Share

Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday to create a taskforce to review the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and recommend changes, according to a report.

The order establishes a group called the Fema Review Council, Semafor reports, who will be directed to issue a report on how the federal disaster response agency currently functions and ultimately recommend changes, including reorganizing or getting rid of the agency altogether.

Trump, in comments earlier today, said he would consider signing an executive order to “fundamentally reform” or potentially eliminate Fema, calling the agency “not good” and a “disaster”.

“I think we’re going to recommend that Fema go away,” the president told reporters in Asheville, North Carolina.

Share

Updated at 

The acting secretary of homeland security, Benjamine Huffman, has invoked a seldom-used provision of federal law to make it easier to deputize state and local police to carry out immigration enforcement, Reuters reports.

In a memo seen by Reuters, Huffman, who took over leadership of the department after Donald Trump was inaugurated, cited a “mass influx” of migrants to the United States, though aspects of his order remains unclear.

Enforcement of immigration law is the job of the federal government, though some Republican-led states have passed laws to allow state and local police to check the paperwork of suspected undocumented migrants.

Share

Updated at 

Acting US attorney for Washington DC Ed Martin has released a statement comparing Donald Trump’s commutations of the Oath Keeper’s militia members’ sentences to Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons of his family members Trump’s political enemies.

“If a judge decided that Jim Biden, General Mark Milley, or another individual were forbidden to visit America’s capital-even after receiving a last-minute, preemptive pardon from the former President – I believe most Americans would object. The individuals referenced in our motion have had their sentences commuted – period, end of sentence,” Martin said in a statement obtained by Politico.

Martin has argued against a judge’s order that prevents several members of the militia, including founder Stewart Rhodes from being in Washington DC or the Capitol building.

Share

State department halts all new aid funding after Trump order

The state department has ordered a halt to funding for almost all aid programs, citing an executive order Donald Trump signed on Monday, the Associated Press reports.

Only aid to Israel and humanitarian food crises are excluded under the policy, with all other US aid programs told to keep running only until they exhaust the funding they currently have.

Here’s more, from the AP:

The sweeping order threatened a quick halt to countless projects globally aiding health, education, development, job training and other efforts by the United States, the largest provider of foreign aid. It appears to begin enforcement of a pledge to eliminate aid programs that President Donald Trump judges not to be in U.S. interests.

The order — sent in a cable to U.S. embassies worldwide and obtained by The Associated Press — prohibits new government spending, which appears to limit programs to running only as long as they have cash on hand.

Some leading aid organizations on Friday were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for U.S.-funded aid work globally, a senior aid organization official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Share

Justice department asks judge to drop ban on Oath Keepers militia members entering US Capitol – report

Acting US attorney for Washington DC Ed Martin has intervened on behalf of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other members of the militia group, Politico reports.

In a just-filed motion, Martin asked federal judge Amit Mehta to reverse a ban he imposed on the militia members that prevents them from entering the US Capitol or Washington DC.

Martin argues that Donald Trump’s commutation of the group’s sentences preclude any such ban from being enforced, according to a filing. We’ll see how Mehta responds.

This post has been corrected to note that Martin is the acting US attorney for Washington DC, not the acting attorney general.

Share

Updated at 

Another reason for Donald Trump to be cautious when it comes to unraveling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema): his Republican predecessor George W Bush’s experience with the botched response to Hurricane Katrina.

The storm 20 years ago inundated New Orleans in one of the worst natural disasters of its time, and Bush’s administration was widely seen as botching the federal response. His administration’s Fema chief, Michael Brown, wound up being relieved of his role coordinating the response to the disaster and later resigned.

The storm struck just less a year after Bush had won a second term in the 2004 election, and majorities in both houses of Congress. Coupled with dissatisfaction over Bush’s handling of the Iraq war, voters handed control of Congress back to the Democrats in the 2006 midterms – exactly the sort of scenario Trump would surely like to avoid.

Share

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the latest part of the federal government in Donald Trump’s crosshairs. But as the Guardian’s Oliver Milman and Dharna Noor report, the president may want to tread carefully:

Donald Trump has suggested paring back or even dismantling the federal response to major disasters, a move that would cut off aid that has largely helped support Republican-leaning states that voted for him in last year’s US presidential election.

Trump said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) had “not done their job for the last four years” and that there would be “a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems”.

In an interview with Fox News, the US president said of Fema that “all it does is complicate everything” and that even states who resoundingly backed him, such as Oklahoma, should be primarily left to deal with the aftermath of major storms, floods and fires.

“I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it,” Trump said. “And then the federal government can help them out with the money. Fema is getting in the way of everything.”

Shifting the burden of disaster aid to the states, an idea outlined by the rightwing Project 2025 manifesto before the election, would hit Republican-leaning states hardest, federal spending figures suggest.

Share

Donald Trump said he was “proud to be a participant” in the overturning of Roe v Wade as he addressed anti-abortion activists at the March for Life rally in Washington DC.

Trump, in a prerecorded video address, said he would “again stand proudly for families and for life” in his second term.

“Six courageous justices of the Supreme Court of the United States returned the issue to the state legislatures and to the people where it belongs,” he said.

Also addressing the crowds on Friday vice-president JD Vance said Trump had “delivered on his promise of ending Roe”, describing him as the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetimes”.

“America is fundamentally a pro-baby, a pro-family and a pro-life country,” Vance added.

Share

Carter Sherman

In their speeches to the March for Life on Friday, the largest anti-abortion gathering in the US, Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance avoided making sweeping policy announcements about limiting access to abortion.

However, both men indicated that the Department of Justice would no longer enforce the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the Face Act, against anti-abortion protests.

That law, passed in the 1990s amid a spate of high-profile anti-abortion violence, penalizes individuals who threaten, obstruct or injure someone who is trying to access a reproductive health clinic, or who vandalize a clinic.

Anti-abortion activists, Vance told a roaring crowd, “should never have the government go after them again.”

Anti-abortion demonstrators gather for the annual March for Life rally, in Washington. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

On Thursday, Trump pardoned a number of anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading a clinic in defiance of the Face Act. Those convictions had fueled demands by activists to repeal the act entirely.

Vance and Trump – who spoke remotely, via a recorded message – garnered the biggest cheers by far from the thousands of people who rallied on the National Mall.

Although Trump repeatedly flip-flopped on abortion rights during the 2024 campaign, angering the anti-abortion leaders who supported him during his first time, the movement’s enthusiasm for the new president was clearly undiminished.

Share

Updated at 

Denmark in ‘crisis mode’ after Trump’s ‘fiery call’ over Greenland – report

We reported earlier that Denmark has agreed to discuss the question of Greenland with Washington, according to Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen after his first call with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

Trump also spoke to the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, last week in which he insisted he was serious in his determination to take over Greenland, the Financial Times reports.

Trump spoke to Frederiksen for about 45 minutes in a call that was described as “fiery”, the paper writes, citing senior European officials.

The conversation between the two went very badly, the officials said, adding that Trump had been aggressive and confrontational. “It was horrendous,” a source told FT.

One person said the Danes “are utterly freaked out” by Trump’s call with Frederiksen. Another told the paper:

The intent was very clear. They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode.

A spokesperson for Frederiksen told the FT they did “not recognize the interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources”.

Share

Updated at 

The Trump administration has withdrawn a Biden administration proposal to ban menthol cigarettes in the US, according to a filing by the office of information and regulatory affairs.

The Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on the sale of flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes in 2022 after several health advocacy groups said they were highly addictive, and played a role in luring young people to smoking.

Menthol cigarettes have also faced scrutiny for their disproportionate impact on the health of Black communities, Reuters reports.

The news agency quotes Yolonda Richardson, CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, as saying:

It is deeply disappointing that a final rule was not issued in a timely manner. … it is more critical than ever that states and cities step up their efforts to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.

Share

Susie Wiles, Donald Trump’s chief of staff, has denied Elon Musk a permanent office in the West Wing of the White House, according to a Times report.

Wiles, whose role as gatekeeper to the president wields great influence, has made it clear that she does not welcome “people who want to work solo or be a star”, the paper writes.

Musk, who has been put in charge of the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), had been angling for his own office within yards of the Oval Office, it says.

But his senior leadership team will be based in the Eisenhower executive office building, which is in the White House grounds but a short walk away from the main complex, it says.

Asked if Musk would be getting an office in the West Wing, Trump said earlier this week: “No. He’s getting an office for about 20 people that we’re hiring to make sure that these [savings] get implemented.”

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Dan Scavino watch as President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
Share

Jakub Krupa

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen agreed with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, to discuss the question of Greenland at a later time, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The two spoke for 20 minutes on Friday, discussing Ukraine, European security, and the Middle East.

The statement in Danish said that while “Arctic security was not on the agenda,” the two agreed it would be discussed on another occasion, and Greenland would also be involved in talks.

Denmark has been on high alert about the US administration’s intentions towards Greenland since Donald Trump’s comments suggesting he would want to take control over the territory.

Earlier this week, he again said it was “a wonderful place,” that the US “needs for international security”.

Share

share Share facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Earthquake off Maine coast rattles New England
Earthquake off Maine coast rattles New England
Lysosomal dysfunction and inflammatory sterol metabolism in pulmonary arterial hypertension | Science
Lysosomal dysfunction and inflammatory sterol metabolism in pulmonary arterial hypertension | Science
Top Senators on Armed Services Panel Briefed on F.B.I. Probe of Hegseth
Top Senators on Armed Services Panel Briefed on F.B.I. Probe of Hegseth
Legal questions surround Trump's federal worker resignation offer
Legal questions surround Trump’s federal worker resignation offer
John McDonnell offers an ambitious alternative economic policy
John McDonnell offers an ambitious alternative economic policy
U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet president-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump as they arrive at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Carrie Underwood had to sing a cappella at Donald Trump inauguration
The Daily Buzz: News You Can’t Afford to Miss | © 2025 | Daily News