OMG! A pope from America…
Go cry else where.
House Approves Gulf of America Name
https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/gulf-of-america-mexico-trump/2025/05/08/id/1210094/
Thursday, 08 May 2025 11:23 AM EDT
The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and direct federal agencies to update their documents and maps to incorporate the new name.
President Donald Trump already signed an executive order during his first day in office to rename the Gulf. House Republicans are looking to show their support, though it is unclear whether he Senate will go along. The bill passed by a vote of 211-206.
"President Trump's America First agenda puts our country first in every way. Today, the House voted to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. I want to thank Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for leading the charge on this legislation. This is one of the many steps House Republicans are taking to codify President Trump’s agenda into law, and there is much more to come," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement.
The body of water has shared borders between the United States and Mexico. Trump’s order only carries authority within the U.S. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.
Democrats said the vote demonstrated that Republicans are not focusing on the priorities of most Americans. New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House's top Democrat, asked Democrats to vote against this "silly, small-minded and sycophantic piece of legislation."
"It's easy to mock this legislation because it’s so inane and embarrassing — and we have," said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. "But it's very existence and the fact that House Republicans have chosen to waste time and taxpayer dollars to bring it up for a vote, is worth considering."
Republicans said the nomenclature of the Gulf extended back to a time before the U.S. existed and when Spanish influence over Central American and the Caribbean was at its zenith. But now, it is the U.S. that dominates economic activity in the Gulf.
"In short, this legislation recognizes the strategic influence America has over this geography, not to mention the existing economic, cultural, and commercial might that we passively exert on the Gulf," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a Trump ally and an influential voice in the Republican conference.
"The Gulf of America is one of the most important things we can do this Congress," Greene said, adding that it promotes pride in the country.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press refers to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. The White House moved in February to block the AP from being among the small group of journalists to cover Trump in the Oval Office or aboard Air Force One, with sporadic ability to cover him at events in the East Room.
The AP sued three Trump administration officials over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the blocking of its journalists.
A federal judge ordered the White House last month to restore The AP's full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech.
The GOP leadership in the House promoted the legislation during a news conference earlier in the week.
"The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the Gulf of America. It’s only right that it’s named appropriately," said House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan.
Several Democrats spoke out against the bill on the House floor.
Rep. George Latimer, D-N.Y., said that "instead of mind-bending tariffs, giveaways to billionaires, and renaming bodies of water, we should be voting on bills that lower costs for the average family."
"No one is clamoring for a newly named body of water," Latimer said. "They want lower grocery bills."
Report: Energy Dept Cancels Biden's $4.5M Website, Logo Deal
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/energy-department-contract-website/2025/05/08/id/1210089/
Thursday, 08 May 2025 10:51 AM EDT
President Donald Trump's Energy Department reportedly canceled a $4.5 million contract that the Biden administration awarded to develop a new agency website and logo.
Under then-President Joe Biden in March 2023, the Energy Department awarded a contract to the Native American firm Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs (CNSP) for the stated purpose of "rebranding" the agency, the Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday.
However, by late last year, CNSP had made no progress on the website redesign and only delivered a logo, which was scrapped shortly after Trump took office.
The Free Beacon reported the Biden administration paid out about $2.3 million of the contract to CNSP and transferred the rest of the contract to a separate IT services firm.
CNSP outsourced the project to two subcontractors. Staffing firm Insight Global received $90,469 to hire a user experience designer, training specialist, and developer, and advertising agency Lempugh, Inc., received nearly $2 million to oversee the rebranding.
Earlier this year, the department ended two million-dollar green energy grants the Biden administration awarded to the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the Free Beacon reported. RMI is a left-wing climate think tank that has pushed for heavy restrictions on gas stoves.
The Trump administration's decision to cancel the CNSP contract is part of a larger initiative to reduce wasteful government spending.
"Energy is not a political issue—it is national security. At the Department of Energy, we're driven by innovation, not ideology, to power America's future," the department posted Wednesday on X.
Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, released Friday, seeks to cut $19.3 billion from the Energy Department's budget by making deep cuts to Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Utility Dive reported.
On Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a statement concerning the budget proposal.
"This is a consequential moment in American history—thanks to President Trump's leadership, the Energy Department has an opportunity to help the nation restore energy dominance, lead the world in innovation, and modernize our nuclear weapons stockpiles," Wright said. "To succeed, we must instill a culture of transparency, performance, and common sense.
"This administration's budget proposal for the Energy Department supports those efforts and will ensure that the Department accomplishes its mission while also fulfilling President Trump's promise to restore the responsible stewardship of the American taxpayer's dollars."