New Mexico Lawmakers Demand Apple and Google Resist Trump-Backed Name Change
A group of Democratic lawmakers from New Mexico has written to Apple and Google CEOs, urging them not to adopt President Trump's proposed renaming of their state 'New America' on map platforms.
The letter, signed by Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, along with Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Teresa Leger Fernández, and Gabe Vasquez, argues that the president does not have the power to unilaterally rename a state.
They point out that changing New Mexico's name would require amending the state Constitution through its own constitutional process, which has not been done.
The lawmakers note that both Apple Maps and Google Maps previously changed the name of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' for US users after Trump signed an executive order on it. The platforms also renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America' last year at the president's request.