House Speaker John Boehner said Monday he is “deeply disappointed” with President Obama’s decision to officially rename Mount McKinley to Denali, its traditional name, during a trip to Alaska to talk about the environment.
Boehner, like former President William McKinley, is from Ohio.
“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,” Boehner said in a statement.
“McKinley served our country with distinction during the Civil War as a member of the Army,” Boehner added. “He made a difference for his constituents and his state as a member of the House of Representatives and as Governor of the great state of Ohio. And he led this nation to prosperity and victory in the Spanish-American War as the 25th President of the United States.”
“I’m deeply disappointed in this decision.”
Obama plans to announce the change during a trip to Anchorage on Monday. The White House explained that he’s restoring “the Koyukon Athabascan name” to recognize “the sacred status of Denali to generations of Alaska Natives.”
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell is using her authority to rename it.