President Obama's renaming of highest N. American peak gets mixed reactions in Congress

Americas

President Obama’s renaming of highest N. American peak gets mixed reactions in Congress

The Obama administration’s decision to rename North America’s highest summit from Mount McKinley to its traditional Native American name, Denali, has divided lawmakers along geographical lines. Many lawmakers from President William McKinley’s home state of Ohio were furious with the announcement Sunday, while Alaskan legislators welcomed the decision, which reverts the mountain back to its original name before Congress changed it in 1917 to honor the assassinated President McKinley. The Ohio Republicans who weighed in on the decision, including Sen. Rob Portman and House Speaker John Boehner, were uniformly upset.

There is a reason President McKinley’s name has served atop the highest peak in North America for more than 100 years, and that is because it is a testament to his great legacy.

House Speaker John Boehner

Ohio lawmakers have long regarded the preservation of McKinley’s name as an important home state issue. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who represents the 13th district, introduced a bill in January 2013 to retain the name. Just as the preservation of the name is important to Ohio lawmakers, so, too, is its change to Alaskans, whose congressional delegation welcomed the news with bipartisan excitement. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski tweeted a video reaction to the announcement featuring her posing in front of the mountain.