AI-assisted summaryArizona State Sen. Wendy Rogers proposed renaming State Route 260 to Donald J. Trump Highway.The bill failed to pass the Republican-run Senate by one vote, with a final vote of 15-9.Other Republican-led states, including Missouri and Oklahoma, are considering similar bills and proposals to honor President Trump.The drive to name an Arizona state highway after President Trump ran off the road on Thursday. I know. I’m surprised, too.Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, proposed transforming State Route 260 into the Donald J. Trump Highway, noting that it’s the patriotic thing to do.He has, after all, been president for an entire six weeks now.“All across the nation people have really endorsed this concept, and why?” Rogers told the Senate Public Safety Committee a few weeks ago. “It’s because WE THE PEOPLE should be able to name our roads and our byways, and WE THE PEOPLE need to be represented and to be proud of our United States president.”Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Alas, WE THE PEOPLE must be crushed because the legislation stalled on Thursday on a 15-9 vote of the Republican-run Senate, one shy of passing.Trump Highway could be revived from the deadThe proposal could make a comeback, however, as Sen. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, was absent from Thursday’s vote. Arizona is not the only red state looking to up its bootlicking game.In Missouri, Republicans also are working on a bill to name a state highway for Trump, and in Oklahoma, there is talk of declaring Nov. 5 (the day he was elected) a state holiday — President Donald J. Trump Day. I am not making this up.In Arizona, Senate Concurrent Memorial 1001 offers 15 whereases to justify the Donald J. Trump Highway. Among other things, it notes that he won the popular vote, unleashed Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency on federal workers and “built over 400 miles of the world’s most robust and advanced border wall” during his first term.Should the legislation be revived, it ultimately would be up to the Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names to decide whether Trump rates the 217.8-mile scenic strip of pavement that runs from Cottonwood to Eager.Me? I’d suggest honoring him with a different route.One filled with harrowing switchbacks and plenty of potholes.Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz, on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz and on BlueSky at @laurieroberts.bsky.social.Subscribe to azcentral.com today. …
