House Democrats pitch renaming federal prison after Trump in response to GOP airport proposal

Washington — After a group of House Republicans proposed renaming Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia after former President Donald Trump, a few of their Democratic colleagues responded by introducing their own bill that would bestow his name on a federal prison.

The two-page bill, introduced Friday, would rename the Miami Federal Correctional Institution in Florida to be the "Donald J. Trump Federal Correctional Institution." Like the Republican bill, which would change the name of Dulles to the "Donald J. Trump International Airport," it is unlikely to go anywhere. 

"When our Republican colleagues introduced their bill to rename Dulles after Donald Trump, I said the more fitting option would be to rename a federal prison," Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia said in a statement Friday. 

Connolly, whose district includes parts of the Dulles airport, introduced the measure with Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Rep. John Garamendi of California.

"I see no reason to wait," Connolly said. "I hope our Republican friends will join us in bestowing upon Donald J. Trump the only honor he truly deserves."

The Democrats sought to needle Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for the dozens of state and federal charges he is facing in four cases, including one in Florida, where he is accused of mishandling classified documents after he left the White House. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and has denied any wrongdoing. 

"I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to our former president, Donald J. Trump, than renaming the closest federal prison to Mar-a-Lago in his honor," Garamendi said.

It's the same prison where Peter Navarro, who was Trump's White House trade adviser, is serving a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

In:
• Donald Trump

Caitlin Yilek

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at cbsnews.com and is based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

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