President-elect Donald Trump announced the renaming on his first day in office. The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the Gulf of America. The name of Alaska's Mount McKinley will be returned to its original name. The renaming could be applied for federal references, but not to other nations.

The Alaska mountain had been officially named Mount McKinley in the eyes of the government since 1917. The Koyukon Athabascan people who lived near the mountain called it Denali. Trump said in his speech after taking the oath of office, “we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinly where it should be”

The Gulf of Mexico will be rechristened the Gulf of America, and Denali will revert back to Mount McKinley. The renaming of the two natural features is to honor “American greatness,” according to a preview of the orders. The federal government officially dubbed it Mt. McKinley in 1917 in honor of the Republican president who had been assassinated.