Trump reportedly to strip Harvey Milk name off naval vessel
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to strip the name of slain gay rights icon and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk off a naval supply vessel, Military.com reported Tuesday.
The rare step of renaming a naval ship is intended to create 'alignment with president and (Defense Secretary) objectives and (Navy Secretary) priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture,' according to a memo written by Navy Secretary John Phelan's office.
This is another step in the Trump administration's efforts to attack any past attempts to highlight American diversity. The planned timing of the announcement for June 13 — days after World Pride will take place in Washington, D.C. — was reportedly intentional, Military.com reported.
Milk — one of the country's first openly gay elected officials, who was assassinated at City Hall in 1978 days after vanquishing a statewide ballot initiative that would have mandated gay teachers be fired — was a Navy veteran. He served in the Navy during the Korean War and chose to receive an "other than honorable" discharge rather than be court-martialed for being gay.
'As the rest of us are celebrating the joy of Pride Month, it is my hope that the Navy will reconsider this egregious decision and continue to recognize the extraordinary contributions of Harvey Milk, a Veteran himself, and all Americans who forged historic progress for our nation,' Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
The USNS Harvey Milk, a supply vessel that brings food, fuel and repair parts to other U.S. Navy vessels and allies at sea, was named in 2016 and christened and launched in 2021.
The USNS Harvey Milk is one of 17 vessels built to honor civil rights heroes, including civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, women's rights activist Lucy Stone and abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
'The reported decision by the Trump Administration to change the names of the USNS Harvey Milk and other ships in the John Lewis-class is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream,' Pelosi said.
The Navy rarely renames ships, however two ships were renamed in 2023 after a congressional commission recommended doing so due to associations with the Confederacy.
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