OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:10 PM – Saturday, February 15, 2025
GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan push to change Mount McKinley’s name back to Denali following President Donald Trump’s move to change the name.
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According to a press release, Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Murkowski (R-Alaska) have reintroduced a measure to change the name of the tallest mountain in North America back to Denali.
“In Alaska, it’s Denali,” Murkowski said. “Once you see it in person, and take in the majesty of its size and breathe in its cold air, you can understand why the Koyukon Athabascans referred to it as ‘The Great One.’ This isn’t a political issue – Alaskans from every walk of life have long been advocating for this mountain to be recognized by its true name. That’s why today I once again introduced legislation that would officially keep this mountain’s quintessential name, ‘Denali.’”
On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order to rename the mountain from Denali to Mount McKinley in honor of President William McKinley, who was killed in 1901.
“In 1917, the country officially honored President McKinley through the naming of North America’s highest peak. Yet after nearly a century, President Obama’s administration, in 2015, stripped the McKinley name from federal nomenclature, an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements, and his sacrifice,” the executive order declares.
The order directed the Interior secretary to “reinstate the name ‘Mount McKinley.’”
“The Secretary shall subsequently update the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to reflect the renaming and reinstatement of Mount McKinley. The national park area surrounding Mount McKinley shall retain the name Denali National Park and Preserve,” the order states.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell issued an order to change the name from Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015 while President Barack Obama held office.
“President Obama wants to change the name of Mt. McKinley to Denali after more than 100 years. Great insult to Ohio. I will change back!” Trump declared in an August 2015 tweet.
The same order to change the name back to Mt. McKinley instructed the Interior Secretary to rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.
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