{"id":12795,"date":"2026-05-13T13:40:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/13\/looking-for-an-endorsement-cornyn-pushes-bill-to-rename-highway-after-trump-ms-now\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:40:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:40:36","slug":"looking-for-an-endorsement-cornyn-pushes-bill-to-rename-highway-after-trump-ms-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/13\/looking-for-an-endorsement-cornyn-pushes-bill-to-rename-highway-after-trump-ms-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for an endorsement, Cornyn pushes bill to rename highway after Trump &#8211; MS NOW"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>After Donald Trump returned to the White House, an unhealthy competition emerged among many of his most sycophantic congressional allies. The goal was, apparently, to see who could go the furthest to impress the president with proposals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/republicans-push-name-kennedy-centers-opera-house-melania-trump-rcna220545\">to glorify him<\/a> in the most outlandish ways possible.<\/p>\n<p>Some championed legislation to create a $250 bill that would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/group-gop-lawmakers-unveil-bill-put-trumps-face-250-dollar-bill-rcna194038?icid=previouspost_bot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">feature Trump\u2019s face<\/a>; others pushed a similar bill to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/bill-add-trumps-face-100-bills-part-ridiculous-pattern-rcna194703\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put Trump\u2019s face on $100 bills<\/a>. Some tried to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/republican-bill-make-trumps-birthday-federal-holiday-rcna192443\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">make Trump\u2019s birthday a federal holiday<\/a>, while others wanted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/gop-proposal-add-trump-mount-rushmore-part-ridiculous-pattern-rcna190809\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">carve Trump\u2019s face into Mount Rushmore<\/a>. Some unveiled legislation to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/691?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Addison+McDowell%22%7D&#038;s=6&#038;r=67\">rename Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump<\/a>, and others backed a bill to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/republican-bill-name-dc-metro-trump-train-part-ridiculous-pattern-rcna209970\">name the Washington, D.C., subway system<\/a> after the president and his MAGA slogan.<\/p>\n<p>While this might be difficult to believe, one House Republican even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/3432?hl=H.R.+3432&#038;s=1&#038;r=1\">sponsored an actual bill<\/a> to direct the National Institutes of Health to conduct research into \u201cTrump derangement syndrome,\u201d as if it were an actual ailment.<\/p>\n<p>But these head-shaking proposals were all introduced in 2025, and now, as the midterm election cycle takes shape, the list of bills designed to venerate the incumbent president is still growing. <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/5874697-cornyn-proposes-trump-interstate-texas\/\">The Hill reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), who is in a tight reelection contest to keep his Senate seat, introduced legislation on Tuesday to dedicate a highway to President Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am proud to introduce legislation to rename US Highway 287 as Interstate 47 in honor of our 47th President,\u201d Cornyn wrote in a social media post. The highway is the second-longest U.S. route, spanning 1,791 miles from Choteau, Mont., to Port Arthur, Texas. GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) co-sponsored the bill.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There\u2019s no reason to believe the bill will pass, at least not anytime soon. But passage isn\u2019t really the point.<\/p>\n<p>There are just two weeks remaining before Texas\u2019 Republican Senate runoff primary election, and by all appearances, Cornyn is in a very tight race against state Attorney General Ken Paxton. The GOP incumbent would no doubt love (and benefit from) a Trump endorsement, which has not yet arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, on March 4, the president said he would \u201csoon\u201d issue an endorsement in the Texas race, adding that he expected the other candidate to drop out of the race after failing to receive his support. Intraparty scuttlebutt suggested that Cornyn would get the nod. More than two months later, however, a reporter asked whether he still intended to make an endorsement, and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/fridays-campaign-round-up-5-8-26-fetterman-says-he-has-no-plans-to-switch-parties\">president replied<\/a>\u00a0that he would make a decision \u201cmaybe relatively soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Five days later, Cornyn unveiled his plan to rename an interstate highway to honor the president. I\u2019m going to go out on a limb and suggest that\u2019s not a coincidence.<\/p>\n<p>As for the scope of the increasingly weird Trump glorification campaign, this seems like a good time to update the broader list:<\/p>\n<p><strong>U.S. currency:<\/strong> Trump recently announced plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/news\/trump-to-add-his-signature-to-currency-a-first-for-a-president\">add his signature to U.S. dollars<\/a> \u2014 a first for a sitting American president \u2014 which is not to be confused with plans for a massive, 3-inch commemorative gold coin featuring Trump\u2019s face.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Renaming buildings:<\/strong> The president\u2019s allies have already added Trump\u2019s name to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-kennedy-center-renamed-board\">Kennedy Center<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/doge\/trump-us-institute-peace-renamed-musk-dismantled-rcna247367\">Institute of Peace<\/a>. By some accounts, the president expects the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KFaulders\/status\/1982045537479106896\">proposed White House ballroom<\/a> to bear his name too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>U.S. military:<\/strong> Plans to construct <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-names-battleship-class-after-himself-advancing-his-personalization-crusade\">\u201cTrump-class\u201d battleships<\/a> are underway, and the nation\u2019s next-generation fighter jet is set to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-touted-designation-f-47-fighter-jet-rcna197545\">an \u201cF-47\u201d designation<\/a> in honor of him. (Trump is the nation\u2019s 47th president.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passports:<\/strong> A few weeks ago, the State Department announced \u201cspecially designed U.S. passports\u201d that would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/like-some-personality-cult-state-department-eyes-plan-to-add-trumps-image-to-passports\">include Trump\u2019s image<\/a>, as well as the president\u2019s signature in gold.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Training and standards:<\/strong> Training for incoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2025\/08\/ice-recruitment-immigration-enforcement-billions\/684000\/\">reduced from 50 days to 47 days<\/a> in honor of Trump. (The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/05\/06\/trump-administration-axes-fast-track-training-for-new-ice-recruits-00906941\">accelerated training schedule<\/a> is reportedly at an end, however.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>The airport in Florida:<\/strong> Just last month, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/news\/gov-desantis-signs-bill-to-rename-palm-beach-airport-after-trump\">signed a bill<\/a> to rename Palm Beach International Airport after Trump. (The president wanted to change the name of Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington, D.C., to honor himself, and he was even prepared to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/white-houses-leavitt-contradicts-trump-on-gateway-tunnel-project-debacle\">execute an extortion scheme<\/a> with Democratic officials to get his way. He had to settle for a much smaller airport.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Banners:<\/strong> Giant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/the-inadvertent-truth-exposed-by-the-justice-departments-creepy-new-trump-banner\">fascistic banners featuring Trump\u2019s face<\/a> are currently covering the front of several government buildings, including the headquarters of the Labor, Agriculture and Justice departments. They were followed by the administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/2026\/05\/07\/signs-thanking-trump-in-washington\/\">unveiling different banners<\/a> around the nation\u2019s capital that show the president in a hard hat alongside text that reads, \u201cThank you, President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accoutrement:<\/strong> The administration also launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-gold-card-goes-on-sale-offering-visas-for-1-million-sparking-controversy\">\u201cTrump Gold Cards,\u201d<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/12\/20\/treasury-hopes-to-juice-trump-accounts-with-appeals-to-philanthropists-corporations-00698179\">\u201cTrump Accounts,\u201d<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/02\/05\/trump-rx-white-house-launches-direct-to-consumer-drug-site.html\">\u201cTrumpRx\u201d<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/news\/trump-signs-executive-order-to-help-more-people-access-retirement-plans\">TrumpIRA.gov<\/a>, while the National Park Service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-imposed-changes-at-national-parks-faces-swift-pushback-in-congress-courts\">added Trump\u2019s face to its park passes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Domestic ambitions:<\/strong> Trump wants a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-finds-something-else-wants-slap-name-football-stadium-dc-rcna243072\">new football stadium<\/a> in Washington to be named after him, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/white-houses-leavitt-contradicts-trump-on-gateway-tunnel-project-debacle\">New York City\u2019s Penn Station<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>International ambitions:<\/strong> Trump recently indicated that he <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/208261\/trump-cabinet-meeting-venezuela-statue\">wants and expects a statue<\/a> to honor him in Venezuela. The Republican <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/thebulwark.com\/post\/3mcv34svtgs2f\">also said<\/a> in January that it was \u201cnot too late\u201d to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico (which he attempted to rename once already) to the \u201cGulf of Trump,\u201d and he <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/atrupar.com\/post\/3mi33ps6hqt2c\">recently suggested<\/a> the Strait of Hormuz should also be called the \u201cStrait of Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cornyn\u2019s highway bill is as absurd as it is desperate, but it\u2019s also part of an unsubtle pattern.<\/p>\n<p><em>This post updates our <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/like-some-personality-cult-state-department-eyes-plan-to-add-trumps-image-to-passports\"><em>related earlier coverage<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Benen is a producer for &#8220;The Rachel Maddow Show,&#8221; the editor of\u00a0MaddowBlog\u00a0and an MS NOW political contributor. He&#8217;s also the bestselling author of &#8220;Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans&#8217; War on the Recent Past.&#8221;\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After Donald Trump returned to the White House, an unhealthy competition emerged among many of his most sycophantic congressional allies. The goal was, apparently, to see who could go the furthest to impress the president with proposals to glorify him in the most outlandish ways possible. Some championed legislation to create a $250 bill that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}