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Hegseth Orders Navy to Rename Ship Honoring Harvey Milk

The name change will be publicly announced on June 13 as part of an effort to reinforce a 'warrior culture' in the U.S. Navy.

USNS Harvey Milk departs the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard after a ceremonial address in San Diego, California on November 6, 2021.
The John Lewis-class replenishment oiler USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) conducts a replenishment at sea with the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), December 13, 2024.
USNS Harvey Milk during acceptance trials in May 2023
A lifelike model of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk is seen on a parade float in a gay pride parade in San Francisco, California June 28, 2015. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo

Overview

  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed Navy Secretary John Phelan to strip the USNS Harvey Milk of its name, reversing the 2016 decision to honor the gay rights activist and Navy veteran.
  • The directive follows Hegseth’s January guidance to end official observances of heritage months and aligns with his broader push to emphasize traditional military ethos over diversity initiatives.
  • The vessel is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance at a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, ahead of its public renaming later this month.
  • Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats condemned the move as a punitive erasure of civil rights history that damages service member morale.
  • The Navy is also reviewing other John Lewis-class oilers named for civil rights figures—including the USNS Thurgood Marshall and USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg—for potential renaming.