Republicans in Utah are working their way toward naming a highway after President Donald Trump in thanks of his decision to dramatically scale down national monuments in the state.
State Democrats, however, have another idea: naming a rampway after Stormy Daniels, the porn star who has alleged a decade-old sexual encounter with the President (Trump’s personal attorney has denied the affair).
On Monday, a bill to rename Utah National Parks Highway to “Donald J. Trump Utah National Parks Highway” cleared a House committee 9-2.
The measure, introduced by GOP Rep. Mike Noel, is a nod to the President’s scaling back of Bears Ears National Monument by about 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to almost half its size. The shrinking of lands declared a national monument makes it easier to mine for coal and drill for oil.
In February, Noel faced a formal ethics complaint for failing to disclose land holdings near the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument worth $1.2 million, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
If the bill reaches the state Senate, Democratic Sen. Jim Dabakis told the Salt Lake Tribune he would propose an amendment to name a frontage road that runs alongside the National Parks Highway “Stormy Daniels rampway.” Daniels is the adult film star who received $130,000 from Trump’s personal lawyer after she claimed she had an affair with Trump.
Democrats, however, make up less than 20% of the Senate body, suggesting the amendment is a long shot.
