Alaska U.S. senators introduce bill that would again designate North America’s tallest peak as Denali

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JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators have introduced legislation seeking to designate North America’s tallest peak as Denali — weeks after President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the name to revert to Mount McKinley.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in a statement Thursday, said that in Alaska, the peak is Denali.

“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,” she said.

The bill introduced by Murkowski is cosponsored by Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, whose wife is Athabascan.

Trump on his first day in office last month signed an executive order to rename the iconic 20,310-foot (6,190-meter) mountain in Denali National Park and Preserve for McKinley, saying a 2015 decision by the Obama administration to recognize the peak as Denali instead of Mount McKinley was “an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements and his sacrifice.”

William McKinley, the 25th president, hailed from Ohio and never visited Alaska, but a prospector dubbed the peak “Mount McKinley” in 1896 — the year McKinley went on to be elected president. The name was formally recognized by the U.S. government until 2015, when Obama’s Interior secretary, Sally Jewell, announced the renaming of the peak to Denali “in recognition of the traditions of Alaska Natives and the strong support of the people of Alaska.” The state had had a longstanding request for the mountain to be renamed Denali but had faced opposition from Ohio lawmakers for years.

Murkowski and Sullivan earlier in 2015 introduced legislation calling for the mountain to be designated Denali. During Trump’s first term, in 2017, the senators pushed back when Trump brought up the idea of having the peak’s name revert to Mount McKinley.

Earlier this month, the Alaska Legislature passed a resolution urging the Trump administration to reverse course and keep the name Denali.

J. Elizabeth Peace, a spokesperson with the U.S. Interior Department, by email Thursday said that the agency doesn’t comment on proposed legislation. Peace said the name change to Mount McKinley — outlined by Trump’s order — was not yet complete but was expected to be soon.

Joe Plesha, a Murkowski spokesperson, said by email Thursday the bill would not block the order from taking effect but instead would seek to reverse it.

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