David Maloney, Trump
President Donald Trump ’s decision to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” has now been followed by a similar proposal involving another Great Lake. A Republican lawmaker in Pennsylvania is preparing a resolution seeking to rename Lake Erie as “Lake Pennsylvania”.
He also referred to research by Pennsylvania Sea Grant and said Pennsylvania stocked almost 500,000 yearling steelhead in 2025, which he said was about 40% of the steelhead stocked across the lake. He is expected to urge President Donald Trump, Congress and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to take steps towards changing the lake’s name, according to a an official statement issued by him, Newsweek reported.
He said Pennsylvanians regularly travel to Lake Erie for boating, fishing and family visits, with visitors spending money along the state’s shoreline. The proposal comes about two weeks after Trump signed an executive order directing US federal agencies to use the name “Lake America” for Lake Ontario. Maloney said Pennsylvania has a particular connection with Lake Erie, which borders the state. Canada has four others,” Maloney said. His office told Newsweek that the proposal is based on how Pennsylvanians care for the lake and how residents of other states also visit it for recreation and fishing. “Be proud and own it,” the office said.
State Representative David Maloney argues that the state has a strong economic and cultural connection with the Great Lake. Maloney represents Pennsylvania’s 130th Legislative District in Berks County. The Lake Ontario decision itself has faced resistance in Canada and parts of the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the name change, saying the lake’s name comes from the language of the Indigenous Wendat people and predates both Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence. Several US governors in the Great Lakes region also dismissed the move. He pointed to recreation and fishing as reasons for the proposed name change. “Ohio has plenty of shoreline. New York already has two Great Lakes.