Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, (left) speaks with Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile (right) on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 10, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Figures on Thursday pressed Elliott on why senators should vote for a bill requiring state agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
A Senate vote on a bill that would have required Alabama governments and agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” was delayed Thursday amid a Democratic filibuster.
HB 2, sponsored by Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, would require all state and local entities to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, questioned the need for the bill.
“We’ve got gas prices as high as they are today, we’re in the middle of war . . . and we are here talking about the Gulf of America,” Singleton said.
President Donald Trump said at a press conference prior to his inauguration last year that the Gulf of Mexico should be named the Gulf of America, a statement that sent Republicans around the country in a race to change the maps. The Trump administration later denied The Associated Press access to the White House press pool because the wire service would not change its style guide, leading to a lawsuit.
A similar bill filed at the end of the 2025 Alabama legislative session failed in a Senate committee on a tie vote before a hastily-called meeting of the same committee the next day. It did not receive a vote from the full Senate due to a filibuster on the last day of session.
Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, said changing the name of the body of water that borders five U.S. states does not help Alabamians.
“I’m a patriotic person, it’s not about the name ‘Gulf of America.’ It’s that it doesn’t do anything for the people of Alabama who are struggling,” Coleman said.
Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, carried the bill in the Senate. Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, pressed Elliott on why senators should vote for the bill.
“It’s a very simple bill. I think we should rename the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America,’” Elliott said.
According to the bill, the changes wouldn’t have to be made if it poses a “financial burden” on local or state entities. Public K-12 schools and colleges and universities are also not prohibited from using the term Gulf of Mexico during an academic instruction when it’s done for historical purposes.
Figures said the bill would create confusion for students because other states do not follow the same name.
“If a change is not widely adopted, is it truly a change at all, or is it simply a source of confusion in a world that is increasingly interconnected? Consistency matters more than ever,” Figures said. “We rely on shared standards to communicate effectively across borders, whether it is aviation, shipping, science or technology. Common language is essential. The name Gulf of Mexico is part of that shared language. Let us not underestimate the value of stability.”
After a day-long filibuster, Republicans lost a quorum in the chamber leading to the bill being carried over to the call of the chair, meaning the bill could be called back for consideration without needing to be placed on a new agenda.
From Alabama Reflector Post Url: Visit
Author: Anna Barrett