House Republicans move to remove Dulles name from Washington airport in favor of Trump

“In my lifetime, our nation has never been greater than under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump,” Reschenthaler said in a statement. “As millions of domestic and international travelers fly through the airport, there is no better symbol of freedom, prosperity, and strength than hearing ‘Welcome to Trump International Airport’ as they land on American soil.”

Washington Dulles International Airport is named for John Foster Dulles, the son of a Watertown minister who served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s secretary of state from 1953 until shortly before his death in April 1959, and who briefly served as a U.S. senator representing New York.

His brother, Allen Welsh Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961 and a sister, Eleanor Lansing Dulles, was a political economist and career diplomat, serving for many years as director of German affairs for the State Department.

While Allen and Eleanor were born in Watertown, John was born in Washington, D.C., in 1888, but having spent the first 16 years of his life in Watertown, he regarded Watertown as his real home. Their father was the Rev. Allen Macy Dulles, who served 17 years, from 1887 to 1904, as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Watertown.

Lake Ontario was important to generations of the Dulles family. For years the family had a summer home, Greyledge, in Henderson Harbor. And as secretary of state, John Foster Dulles frequently sought refuge in the solitude of his hideaway on Main Duck Island, 20 miles north of Chaumont in Canadian waters.

When the airport in northern Virginia opened in 1962, it was named the Dulles International Airport and dedicated by President John F. Kennedy. It was renamed Washington Dulles International Airport in 1984. It serviced more than 25 million passengers in 2023, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Reschenthaler is joined in his legislation by U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Paul Gosar, (R-Ariz.), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.). The bill has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for consideration, but is viewed as having a slim chance to ultimately be passed by the Democrat-controlled Senate.

If the Dulles name is removed from the airport, the family’s legacy will live on through the Dulles State Office Building in Watertown. Gov. Mario M. Cuomo issued an executive order in August 1987 changing the name of the Watertown State Office Building to commemorate John Foster and Allen Welsh Dulles.

There is also a school and a street in Sugar Land, Texas, named after John Foster Dulles and a section of Firestone Library at his alma mater, Princeton University, is named for him.