Palm Beach International Airport (KPBI) in Florida could soon be known as KDJT, if the state’s lawmakers get their way.
Florida state senators on Tuesday voted unanimously to advance a bill that proposes renaming Palm Beach International to Donald J. Trump International Airport in honor of the 45th and 47th U.S. president. Trump, who has held a permanent residence in Palm Beach County since 2019, is the first president to be a Florida resident.
On Wednesday afternoon, the state’s House reported the bill favorably in a 12-3 vote, advancing it further.
“President Trump is the first president that Florida has had in our history, and I think it’s very appropriate for us to be naming one of the other icons in Palm Beach after him,” state Senator Debbie Mayfield, who sponsored the bill, told Politico.
Palm Beach County commissioners in 2025 voted to rename a road after Trump, whose namesake has also been added to institutions such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
According to Politico, Palm Beach County officials have questions about who will pay for the renaming—which will require fresh physical and digital branding—and concerns about a potential “increase in general security threats” due to protests and pushback. They estimated the effort could take two years to complete.
“The bill appears to have a negative impact on local government expenditures associated with renaming the Palm Beach International Airport,” reads a Florida House analysis of the bill.
Per that analysis, stakeholders may require an agreement that grants Palm Beach County the rights to use Trump’s namesake commercially, without paying royalties for advertising, marketing, branding, and other activities. The name change will also require FAA approval so that the agency can update official charts, databases, and other resources.
Though the bill proposes only to rename Palm Beach International, it would allow the state to preempt local government authority over the naming of other major commercial service airports. That means Orlando International (KORD), Miami International (KMIA), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (KFLL), Tampa International (KTPA), Southwest Florida International (KRSW), and Jacksonville International (KJAX) airports could all be renamed.
Playing the Trump Card
Palm Beach International is not the only airport that could be renamed after Trump. Last week, five congressional Republicans introduced federal legislation that would similarly rename Washington Dulles International Airport (KIAD) to “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
Lawmakers are not the only ones looking to curry favor with the president.
The U.S. Transportation Department in December launched an effort to “revitalize” Dulles, which it said is “known for its dated facilities, inefficient system of people movers that deliver passengers as much as a half mile away from their gates, its moon-rover-like ‘mobile lounges,’ jet fuel smell in the concourses, and a paltry number of gates at the main terminal.” In response, a few architectural firms submitted proposals that use the president’s name.
Bermello Ajamil & Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects, known for designing the starfish-shaped terminal layout for Beijing Daxing International Airport (ZBAD), did not explicitly call to use Trump’s name. But they submitted a slide deck featuring an image that depicts a “Donald J. Trump Terminal.”
Another company, Eden Blue, has proposed replacing Dulles’ people movers and mobile lounges with “Direct Jet Transport” (DJT) vehicles, a nod to Trump’s initials. Susan Saarinen, the daughter of Dulles main terminal designer Eero Saarinen, said she supports that proposal.
“Mr. Trump would like to name the airport after him, because he likes his name I guess, and he likes to name things,” Saarinen told The Washington Post. “And if a DJT happens to work for that, it works for me.”
Eden Blue in its submission said that, “Ideally, China licenses the DJTs, giving President Trump credit.”
Two other applicants, Fengate Capital Management and AltitudeX Aviation Group, submitted their proposal through a joint venture called “Terminal Redevelopment & Upgrade Management Platform Airports”—or TRUMP Airports.
