Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Navy to take the unusual step of renaming a ship currently honoring a prominent gay rights figure, according to documents and sources.
Military.com obtained a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy—responsible for naming Navy vessels—which outlined plans for renaming the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk.
A defense official confirmed that the Navy is preparing to remove the ship’s name, noting that Navy Secretary John Phelan was acting under direct orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The official also acknowledged that the timing of the decision—during Pride Month—was deliberate.
The memo reviewed by Military.com stated that the renaming was intended to ensure “alignment with the president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture,” a reference to President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Navy Secretary John Phelan.
Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials in U.S. history, rising to prominence in the 1970s as a symbol of the emerging gay civil rights movement. He was assassinated while serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. According to the memo, the announcement of the ship’s renaming was scheduled to be made public on June 13.
A new name for the Harvey Milk has not been provided; however, according to the memo, Hegseth and Phelan plan to announce the new name aboard the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned Navy ship.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House Speaker who represents much of San Francisco, in a statement Tuesday called the decision to rename the ship “a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country.”
The Harvey Milk is part of the John Lewis-class of oilers, a fleet of ships named in honor of prominent civil rights leaders and activists, Military.com reported. CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other ships in the John Lewis-class oiler fleet, including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman.
Marshall and Ginsburg both served as Supreme Court justices, while Tubman was a prominent Black abolitionist known for leading enslaved individuals to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
