Ohio legislators are knocking President Barack Obama’s decision to pull home-state legend William McKinley’s name from the highest peak in America and rename it “Denali.”
House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican who represents western Ohio, said he was “deeply disappointed” in the decision.
“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.
Another Republican, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, tweeted his disappointment Sunday night: “President McKinley was a proud Ohioan, and the mountain was named after him, as a way to remember his rich legacy after his assassination.”
Obama, who is traveling to Alaska to press for answers on the environment, said in his weekly radio address that the nation’s highest peak is threatened by climate change.
The mountain and its 20,320-foot peak has long been at the center of a battle between Ohioans and Alaskans. Alaska leaders, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, have pushed for the peak to be re-titled “Denali,” after its local name.