Utah GOP governor: Naming a highway after Trump is ‘a little premature’

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) said Tuesday that a GOP-sponsored proposal to name a state highway after President Trump would be “premature.”

A Utah Senate panel voted Monday in favor of the bill, which would rename a southern Utah highway the “Donald J. Trump Utah National Parks Highway” in honor of his decision to shrink two national monuments in Utah.

“It’s a little premature,” Herbert said Tuesday, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. “Typically, at least in Utah, we wait until people have left office to reward them for the work they have done.”

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“I realize the zeal and enthusiasm some have for Donald J. Trump, and I share the enthusiasm where it comes to state rights,” he added. “But there’s probably a reason why we wait five years for people to vote on the Hall of Fame to look at the broader perspective to decide whether it’s proper.”

Herbert indicated that he may veto the measure if it makes it to his desk.

“I would say, let’s see what happens and see the pros and cons and people can make the argument,” he said. “We’ll make that decision.”

A Democratic state senator pushed back on the proposal, saying he would propose an amendment that would name the highway’s service road the “Stormy Daniels Rampway” after the adult-film star who allegedly had an affair with Trump.