If there’s one thing you can say for sure about president Donald Trump, it’s that the man loves seeing his name on buildings. In fact, licensing the Trump name to add brand cache for international developments was a major cash cow for Trump in the years leading up to his election.
However, if an idea for legislation recently floated by Texas representative Joaquin Castro comes to pass, the president may be proactively banned from ever seeing his name appear on a federal building. In a series of tweets sent not long after a number of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Castro said that he was “preparing legislation that would prohibit any federal building or property from being named after President Donald J. Trump.”
Although such a bill has yet to be introduced as of January 12, Castro has cosponsored multiple House resolutions calling for the impeachment of President Trump. If taken up by the House and eventually signed by incoming President Joe Biden, such legislation would mark the first time an ex-president would be both formally and proactively banned from having their name appear on federal buildings.
Recent precedent suggests things could go either way when it comes to whether or not we’ll ever see Trump’s name on a federal building. Richard Nixon, the only president (so far) to leave office via resignation, does not have much in the way of namesake structures (apart from two public schools) that bear his moniker. On the other hand, Bill Clinton, who, like Trump, was impeached by the house but acquitted by the senate, had a D.C. federal office complex renamed in his honor in 2013.
Regardless of what happens with Castro’s un-introduced legislation, it’s become increasingly evident that the value of Trump’s name is poised to take a hit. Recently, the PGA decided to move the 2022 PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major tournaments, away from Trump National in Bednminnster, New Jersey. In addition, Deutsche Bank announced it would cut its ties with the Trump Organization, which owes the German bank roughly $340 million in outstanding loans.
