Politics'National Embarrassment': Marjorie Taylor Greene Mocked for Suggesting the U.S. Owns the Gulf of Mexico
Marjorie Taylor Greene presented a bill in Congress.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was ridiculed on social media after she said the United States should take pride in owning the Gulf of Mexico, rebranded by Donald Trump as the Gulf of America.
"This is such an important thing to do for the American people," Greene told Congress. "The American people deserve pride in their country, and they deserve pride in the waters that we own."
Several critics shared her comments and correctly pointed out that the United States does not, in fact, own the Gulf.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is pushing Donald Trump's 'Gulf of America' rebranding.
No country technically "owns" the Gulf, as it borders three separate countries, including the United States, Mexico and Cuba.
Under provisions of the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea, the United States only directly controls the waters of the Gulf approximately 12 nautical miles from its shores.
According to the NOAA, the Gulf also maintains what is known as an "Exclusive Economic Zone," stretching 200 miles offshore, which allows it to "explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources."
Inside the Backlash
One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared the viral clip of Greene's speech and wrote: "Bless your heart. We need to have a little geography, and reality check. The United States doesn’t own the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an international body of water."
Another X user commented: "As per the usual, EmptyGreene knows nothing about the facts. The United States does not own the Gulf of Mexico. What a national embarrassment."
A third person joked: "Try explaining the concept of International waters to her. Go ahead, I dare you."
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Donald Trump's Rebranding Mission
Several outlets have refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Republicans largely rallied behind the contentious proposal, with only one member, GOP Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska, breaking ranks to vote against it.
Greene's measure mandates that federal agencies update their documents and maps to reflect the new name within six months of the bill's enactment. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where its fate remains uncertain.
Ahead of the vote, the congresswoman also asserted partisan sentiments and insinuated that those opposing the name change were "coddling" Mexican cartels.
Congress' Bill
Almost every Republican congressperson backed the political figure's bill.
As Greene touted the significance of the bill, most Democrats characterized the effort as frivolous. Many lawmakers on the left argued that the House should be focusing on pressing issues rather than devoting time to a bill they deem a waste of taxpayer resources.
Representative Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, criticized the attention given to the bill, stating, "Instead of debating that very important and destructive legislation, they are speaking up today about this deeply unserious bill to rename a body of water. A Congress that more and more appears to just be a joke, is now advancing a bill that literally started off as a joke." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost of updating federal documents and maps to be less than $500,000 over five years. However, Democrats highlighted the potential further financial burden on schools, libraries, and municipalities that would need to revise textbooks, signs and other materials.
Representative Michelle Fischbach (MN-R) suggested a simple solution for school districts struggling with costs and said, "If a school district can't afford to purchase an entirely new map, you know what? A sticker would do. Just put that over the top and put 'Gulf of America.' I mean, there are a lot of simple ways to deal with this."
