Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced legislation on Thursday to rename North America’s highest mountain “Denali,” after President Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office changing its name to “Mount McKinley.”
The bill — which is cosponsored by the state’s junior senator, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) — would require the name “Denali” be used in all official references to the Alaskan mountain, including in U.S. laws, maps, regulations and other records.
“In Alaska, it’s Denali,” Murkowski said in a statement. “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.’”
Murkowski said, “This isn’t a political issue,” noting she’s introduced the same legislation in three previous Congresses.
“Alaskans from every walk of life have long been advocating for this mountain to be recognized by its true name,” Murkowski said. “That’s why today I once again introduced legislation that would officially keep this mountain’s quintessential name, ‘Denali.’”
In 2015, under former President Obama, the Department of the Interior officially changed the mountain’s name from “Mount McKinley” to “Denali,” 40 years after Alaska made the same name change.
Trump has maintained that the historic landmark should honor former President McKinley, as originally proclaimed in 1917. He made that change on the first day of his second term in office, with the executive order, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.”
“President McKinley championed tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing, boost domestic production, and drive U.S. industrialization and global reach to new heights,” Trump wrote in the executive order, drawing clear parallels with the former Republican leader.
“He was tragically assassinated in an attack on our Nation’s values and our success, and he should be honored for his steadfast commitment to American greatness.”
Alaska’s legislature has adopted a resolution urging Trump, the secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to keep the name Denali.
