Republicans want to honor a history-making Floridian with the presidential library he desires.
Legislation filed Thursday, Dec. 19 for the 2025 legislative session aims to preempt municipal-level zoning laws so President-elect Donald Trump can build a presidential library in Florida his way, without interference from local government.
State Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Central Florida Republican, has filed a presidential library preemption bill that prohibits any county, local, or even state entity from enforcing any regulation on such libraries.
If it becomes law, Trump would have to follow federal regulations but otherwise could do as he wants if he chooses to build his library in Florida.
The bill includes no money for the project, but under the terms of a settlement for a defamation lawsuit ABC News agreed to donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum.
Brodeur said Trump “has built the most beautiful buildings and properties on planet Earth” and he thought “it was time for America’s Phoenix to have his library done as he envisions it, without input from a county or city government,” if he were to decide to locate it in Florida.
Trump is the second president ever to be voted out of office and then reclaim the presidency four years later. He carried Florida in all three elections he was on the ballot, increasing his vote total from 4.6 million in 2016 to 6.1 million in 2024.
A New York resident most of his life, Trump moved to Florida in 2019 and declared his Mar-a-Lago private residence and club in Palm Beach his permanent residence.
At the time, he said he cherished New York and the people of New York, “but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state.”
The 45th President Donald J. Trump speaks at his media event in the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on November 15, 2022.
Trump 5th president to have Sunshine State residence
Trump is the fifth president to have a Florida home. Andrew Jackson lived here for 11 months as territorial governor in 1821. Harry S. Truman had a “little White House” in Key West. He spent 175 days there during 11 visits between 1946 and 1952.
John F. Kennedy, like Trump, had a Palm Beach home and, as with Truman, the media called it the “little White House” during his presidency. And Richard M. Nixon had a three-home complex at Key Biscayne that he visited 50 times between 1969 and 1974.
When told of the Brodeur proposal, Evan Power, chair of the Republican Party of Florida, quickly endorsed the idea.
Power said Trump made history as a Floridian, recovering from a 2020 defeat with a dramatic comeback victory in 2024. Trump should be allowed to build “an iconic presidential library without the interference of politically-motivated local attacks.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bill would preempt local control over Donald Trump’s library plans
