Florida lawmakers have agreed on how much taxpayers should pay to rename Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) after President Donald Trump.
Newly released documents in the ongoing budget Special Session show the House has dropped its initial proposal for $5.5 million for the rebranding, the full sum Melbourne Sen. Debbie Mayfield sought in a February appropriation request.
The Senate countered with a $2.75 million offer, which the House matched Friday evening.
The nonrecurring funds will go toward campus-wide signage replacements, along with equipment and vehicle rebranding, uniform and marketing updates, and technology upgrades to overhead announcement, emergency messaging and passenger processing systems.
PBI, soon to be rechristened Donald J. Trump International Airport, serves roughly 8.6 million passengers annually and sits approximately four miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
DeSantis signed legislation (HB 919) approving the renaming — sponsored by Mayfield, Palm Beach Gardens Rep. Meg Weinberger and St. Augustine Rep. Kim Kendall, all Republicans — in March. The House passed the measure 81-30, while Senators approved it 25-11, both on party-line votes
The renaming has been entangled in controversy. As the bill moved through committee, a Trump-owned company filed trademark applications for “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” “Donald J. Trump International Airport” and “DJT,” seeking rights on merchandise ranging from clothing to luggage.
Senate Democratic Leader-designate Shevrin Jones of Miami Gardens filed amendments in mid-February to block Trump from profiting off the airport’s name.
“This is not about honoring the President,” he said at the time. “This is about generating revenue from a public entity for a private company, a company with Donald Trump’s interest at the helm, and not the people of the state of Florida.”
Every Republican member of the Senate Rules Committee voted Jones’ amendments down.
This month, Palm Beach County Commissioners narrowly approved a trademark licensing agreement with Trump’s company on a 4-3 vote. The deal grants the Trump Organization approval authority over marketing materials referencing his biography and requires airport retailers to source branded merchandise from Trump-designated vendors.
Because the agreement is non-exclusive, critics noted it leaves open the possibility of Trump-affiliated entities selling airport-branded goods outside the facility for profit. Some commissioners raised concerns about the absence of a termination clause, meaning the county could be bound to the agreement indefinitely.
The Trump Organization told the Associated Press that the President and his family “will not receive any royalty, licensing fee, or financial consideration whatsoever from the proposed airport renaming.”
