Petition to Remove Ronald Reagan's Name from D.C.'s Airport Gets over 60K Signatures

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition to rename Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington NationalAirport so that the former President's name is removed.

The petition, created by CREDO mobile, a California-based mobile network company with a history of supporting left-leaning causes, calls out Republican criticism of President Obama for his order last week to recognize America's tallest mountain, Mount McKinley, by its original name, "Denali," before making a case about the airport.

"President Obama just took a small but important step for recognizing the history, culture, and human rights of America's Native Americans when he decided to rename America's tallest mountain, Mount McKinley in Alaska, to its original name of Denali," the petition states. "But right-wing extremists in the Republican party, including House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, don't see it that way. Boehner announced he is 'deeply disappointed' in President Obama's decision. But in 1998, John Boehner and his fellow Republicans in Congress weren't so hesitant to remove a president's name from a public landmark when they decided to rename Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan."

"That's why it's time to see if Speaker Boehner is willing to stay consistent and rename Ronald Reagan airport back to its original name honoring America's first president, George Washington, the petition read.

As of Monday, 65,997 people had signed it.

For decades the airport had been known as Washington National Airport, but in 1998 it was renamed for the former President and conservative hero after Congress passed legislation.