Palm Beach County officials narrowly approved a naming rights and license agreement as part of a state law to rename the county’s airport after President Donald Trump.

County commissioners voted 4-3 to implement an agreement among Palm Beach County, Trump himself and DTTM Operations, LLC, the entity that managed Trump’s trademarks and secured the trademark for “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill authorizing the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport to President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

“The license agreement is needed to protect the county’s interests,” Chief Deputy County Administrator Patrick Rutter said at a meeting on Tuesday.

These interests include ensuring compliance with state law, protecting state funding to the county and protecting against legal claims, Rutter said.

“Any claims on trademark infringement, violations, rights, things of that sort, it’s addressed in the agreement,” he said. 

If commissioners had not agreed to approve the contract, they could have been penalized.

“This is our seat at the table,” Commissioner Marci Woodward said. “This (renaming) would move forward either way. This maintains us as relevant in this process.”

The license agreement

According to the agreement, DTTM Operations still owns the airport name and associated trademarks but would grant the county a royalty-free license for airport operations, signage, marketing and branding.

Other conditions in the agreement, according to county documents, include:

— The county must buy airport-branded merchandise from retailers approved by Trump’s company.

— Trump’s company could deny a proposed use of Trump’s name, likeness, image and biographical information used for marketing, advertising or promotion.

— The license is non-exclusive, which could mean Trump and DTTM are not exclusively bound to dealings just with Palm Beach County.

“When you track down what the name change does and how many touches there are along the way, it is a very, very significant endeavor. This licensing agreement is necessary to bring all that into conformance,” Rutter said at the meeting.

Mixed opinions

Despite the renaming being in the hands of the state, more than a dozen residents came forward during Tuesday’s meeting to speak both for and against the change.

“We own the airport, but the state is forcing us to rename it to President Donald J. Trump,” said Victoria Doyle, a South Florida Democrat running for Congress. “Many states in this country prohibit naming any public place after a convicted felon or any public place after a person who’s still alive. Trump is both.”

Victoria Doyle speaks against the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump during a commission meeting at the Robert Weisman Governmental Center in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York in May 2024.

“We elected you to represent us. We don’t want this or the $5.5 million cost,” Doyle said.

Alexis Salerno, who was representing Republican state Rep. Meg Weinberger, said the renaming “has real implications for tourism and long-term economic impact.”

“In a competitive global market, widely recognized names help drive visibility, attract higher spending visitors and support local revenue, making this licensing agreement a unique opportunity to strengthen Palm Beach County,” she said.

Supporters of President Donald Trump during public comments on the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump during a commission meeting at the Robert Weisman Governmental Center in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

When Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Indialantic, first introduced the bill — which grants the state authority to name Florida’s seven major commercial service airports — she believed renaming the county’s airport after Trump was fitting due to the president’s Mar-a-Lago residency.

As the bill coursed through the Legislature, Democratic lawmakers criticized the renaming, particularly the estimated $5.5 million price tag and naming the airport after Trump while he still is the sitting president.

During a legislative session earlier this year, Sen. Shevrin Jones, who represents a portion of Miami-Dade County, said the $5.5 million could pay for “desperately needed infrastructure” in his district.

“We found that money to be able to pay for the name change on the airport, and it’s disheartening to me because when I go back home into my district, the one thing that I have to tell them is that we could not bring this money home again, but we could pay $5.5 million to change the name on the airport,” Jones said.

Mayfield submitted a funding request to the state for the full $5.5 million, which could go toward signage and uniform replacement, equipment rebranding, promotional items, and systems and technology updates.

During Tuesday’s county meeting, Rutter said the state has yet to adopt a budget, so whether the state will pay for the renaming has yet to be confirmed.

Also still pending is a lawsuit filed by a Palm Beach County pilot challenging the renaming. George W. Poncy Jr. filed a lawsuit with the state of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Transportation listed as defendants. Poncy alleged the renaming could lead to safety risks and communication issues for pilots and air traffic controllers, raise uncertainties pertaining to licensing and trademark rights, and is an overreach of power on local government.

County Attorney David Ottey said during Tuesday’s meeting that the outcome of the lawsuit could “hypothetically” impact the county’s agreement.

Commissioner Gregg Weiss was one of the commissioners who voted not to approved the agreement. He told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he did not believe enough information was given about what was a lengthy, complex agreement received only Monday.

“I think we should have taken our time with this,” he said. “This is an important contract. … The airport belongs to the people of Palm Beach County. Whatever happens to it falls on our residents and our visitors.”