On Monday during a meeting of the House Rules Committee, Wyoming MAGA Republican Representative Harriet Hageman tried to make points with MAGA Republican President Donald Trump by endorsing his executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
She claimed Trump's move was justified because Mexico "has been fouling our waters for decades upon decades." Hageman added the United States needed to "claim ownership of this area."
You can see the moment here:
But Hageman supported her claim by referring to San Diego, California, which is about 1,500 miles away.
Hageman told the House Rules Committee:
"I think another reason why we should change this to the Gulf of America versus the Gulf of Mexico is, for over 40 years, the country of Mexico has been dumping raw sewage into the area near San Diego, California."
"That’s another reason we need to retake and claim ownership of this area."
The environmental issue Hageman referred to involves the Tijuana River that flows from Mexico through California, then empties into the Pacific Ocean.
Hageman threw support behind a bill proposed by Georgia MAGA Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene that would require federal laws, maps and other materials to rename the body of water to match Trump’s executive order.
The exact cost of renaming the Gulf of Mexico hasn't been included in the bill, but it would involve updates across different levels of government and private entities. Initial estimates for signage alone are around $40,000.
The Gulf of Mexico sits on the southeast corner of the United States, the northeast corner of Mexico, and northwest of the Caribbean nation of Cuba.
None of the three countries hold exclusive claim of the water beyond 12 nautical miles of their coastline, where international waters begin.
The body of water has been the Gulf of Mexico on maps and in records dating back to the 1550s.
Mexico became a country in 1821, the U.S. declared itself independent in 1776, and Cuba became a country in 1902, making the Gulf of Mexico over 200 years older than any of them.
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Five states now border the Gulf of Mexico: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. They're collectively called the "Gulf States."
Mexico has about 1,700 miles (2,700 km) of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico and where it flows into the Caribbean Sea. The United States coastline on the Gulf of Mexico also spans approximately 1,700 miles (2,700 km).
San Diego, California is on the Pacific coast of the United States, far removed from the Gulf of Mexico. But south of the city is the Gulf of California, which is bordered only by the country of Mexico.
Mexican President Claudia Pardo Sheinbaum has not changed the name of that body of water, despite it not sharing coastline with any other country.
She's apparently uninterested in wasting time and money on petty actions that accomplish nothing.
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And if Hageman just wants a retaliatory name change, New Mexico is right there on the other side of Arizona.
While Hageman likely felt she made a great point, social media mocked her.
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Hageman was elected to Congress in 2022 as the MAGA candidate.
She replaced incumbent Republican Representative Liz Cheney, after winning the GOP primary campaigning as the pro-Trump candidate.
Cheney famously fell out of favor with the GOP for criticizing Trump.
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