President Donald Trump signed a bill into law naming a Virginia post office after the slain U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, whose family sparred with then-candidate Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
The White House on Friday announced President Trump signed H.R. 3184, designating the postage facility at 180 McCormick Road in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the Captain Humayun Khan Post Office, along with several other bills. The president alluded to signing the bill in a tweet, writing: “Some of the many Bills that I am signing in the Oval Office right now,” Trump tweeted Friday.
In a blistering speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan, the father of the befallen soldier who died from a suicide bombing in Baghdad 14 years ago, criticized Trump’s travel ban and questioned his stance on waterboarding of terror suspects. In response to Khan’s remarks, Trump released a statement in which he called the slain captain “a hero to our country and we should honor all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe.”
Following his war of words with President Trump, Khan participated in a number of Democrat fundraising efforts. In October, the Virginia attorney sent a fundraising email on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), writing: “I love this country. My son died for this country. And like you, I watched Donald Trump’s latest attack on Gold Star families in horror.”
Democrat Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine issued a joint statement Friday evening stating President Trump had signed the bill, which was filed by Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA). “With the dedication of this post office, we’re showing the Khan family that we’re forever grateful for his service and sacrifice for our country,” the statement read.
The bill passed both chambers of Congress by unanimous consent.
Garrett, who announced his retirement from Congress in May, plans to hold a naming ceremony for the Charlottesville post office before leaving public office in January.
Captain Khan, a graduate of the University of Virginia, was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.