Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) is introducing a bill to rename part of the I-17 highway after Kayla Mueller and Charles Keating IV.
Mueller and Keating: American Heroes
Kayla Mueller was an Arizona-born member of Doctors Without Borders who went into Aleppo, Syria, in 2013 and was captured by members of the Islamic State (ISIS). She was killed in 2015 after 18 months in captivity.
Rep. Hamadeh previously honored her memory by being sworn into office on the Mueller family Bible and secured her remains in 2025 during a meeting with Syria's new President, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Keating, meanwhile, was another Arizona native who served in the Navy SEALs and was killed by ISIS forces in a battle outside of Mosul, where he was part of a team rescuing American military advisers.
What Hamadeh is Saying
Rep. Hamadeh's Mueller-Keating Memorial Highway Act renames I-17 in their honor, specifically the stretch from Prescott, Mueller's hometown, to Phoenix, where Keating was from.
"Operation Inherent Resolve demanded both military force and humanitarian resolve, and this designation recognizes the distinct, yet complementary roles our beloved Arizonans played in that effort," the Arizona congressman said in a press release. "We can never forget the victims of ISIS and these two Americans that faced that evil with faith and courage."
In June, Hamadeh introduced the No American Left Behind Act, which establishes a formal doctrine to shape policy on the rescue and recovery of American citizens abroad, and the No Equipment Left Behind Act, which requires comprehensive reporting, risk assessments, and accountability measures to ensure that military assets are properly tracked, secured, transferred, or destroyed when U.S. forces exit a theater of operations.
"The bottom line is clear: the United States is finally making real progress in bringing Americans home," Hamadeh previously said. "This bill locks in those efforts — strong, coordinated, and enduring. Every American abroad must know that their country will never stop fighting for them. No exceptions. America First means no American left behind."
