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The House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill to designate the bald eagle as the official national bird of the United States, which will now go to President Joe Biden’s desk. 

The legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate in July, and passed in a voice vote in the House on Monday. The eagle has been considered a national symbol since the Second Continental Congress put the bird on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, but was never officially declared the national bird under U.S. Law.

The effort to designate the eagle as the national bird was largely led by senators and lawmakers from Minnesota. Bipartisan Minnesota Reps. Brad Finstad, a Republican, and Angie Craig, a Democrat, led the effort in the House, according to The Hill.

“The bald eagle has long been associated with and a symbol of the United States,” South Carolina GOP Rep. Russell Fry said on the House floor. “The bald eagle appears on the flags and insignia of our military, on passports and currency. It appears on the flags of several states as well. The bald eagle is also important to Native American tribes across the United States. It plays a key role in sacred belief systems and traditions, stories, ceremonies, and insignias.”

The passage of the eagle as the national bird will be part of the same chapter of U.S. law that designates “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, “In God we trust” as the national motto, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” as the national march, and the oak tree as the national tree. 

“The bald eagle is a symbol of our country’s freedom and strength,”  Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who helped lead the effort in the Senate, said in a statement. “In Minnesota, we know a thing or two about eagles: we are home to one of the largest populations of bald eagles in the country as well as the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.”

Bald eagles were previously considered an endangered species, and are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which bans people from hunting, harming, or selling bald eagles or their nests and eggs.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.