Pete Hegseth orders Navy to strip name of gay rights icon Harvey Milk from ship in time for Pride Month
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that the ship bearing the name of gay rights icon and Navy veteran Harvey Milk be renamed, according to Military.com.
The Office of the Secretary of the Navy issued a memo revealing the plans to change the name of the replenishment oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk, which was christened in 2021. They're also considering renaming several naval ships named after civil rights leaders and other distinguished Americans, CBS News noted.
An official noted that the Navy was taking steps to change the name of the ship, but added that the Navy Secretary, John Phelan, was ordered to make the name change by Hegseth. The official added that the announcement timing, coming during Pride Month, was intentional, according to Military.com.
Washington D.C. is hosting WorldPride celebrations this year.
Documents obtained by CBS News reveal that other ships under consideration for renaming are the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez, and USNS Medgar Evers.
The memo seen by Military.com stated that the name change was done for there to be "alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture," in a seeming reference to President Donald Trump, Hegseth, and Phelan.
Milk became the first openly gay man elected to public office in California when he became a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 after winning an election the previous year. He was assassinated in November 1978 following the passage of a bill prohibiting housing and employment discrimination because of sexual orientation.
The renaming of the ship was set to become public on June 13, the memo said. While a new name for the Milk has not been announced, the memo said Hegseth and Phelan are set to make the announcement aboard the oldest commissioned ship in the Navy, the USS Constitution.
The Harvey Milk is an oiler ship in the John Lewis-class. It's part of a group of ships named after civil rights activists. Lewis was a congressman and civil rights icon who passed away in 2020.
Instances of renaming Navy ships are rare, and the process is taboo according to Navy traditions, Military.com noted.
The Navy most recently renamed two ships in 2023 with connections to the Confederacy, the USS Chancellorsville and the research ship USNS Maury, to USS Robert Smalls and USNS Marie Tharp. Smalls was a slave who took charge of a Confederate ship and surrendered it to the Union, while Tharp was an oceanographer.
However, these name changes were done following the recommendation of a commission established by Congress to review names with connections to the Confederacy in the entire military.
The USNS Harvey Milk received its name in 2016 from the Navy secretary at the time, Ray Mabus. USNI News noted that Milk came from a family with a history of service in the Navy. Milk was commissioned in 1951. During the Korean War, he was an operations and diving officer on the submarines USS Kittiwake and USS Chanticleer. However, in 1954, Milk was facing a court-martial for previously having taken part in a 'homosexual act.'
Instead of a trial, Milk left the armed forces, similarly to many other gay service members at that time. He resigned his commission and accepted an 'Other Than Honorable' discharge, CBS News noted.
Becoming an icon and martyr in the LGBT+ community, he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
The USNS Harvey Milk is currently undergoing maintenance work at a shipyard in Alabama.
Speaker Emerita and San Francisco Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi told CBS: '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.'
"Our military is the most powerful in the world – but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the 'warrior' ethos. Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country,' she added.
Hegseth was confirmed in January, and he was quick to issue a directive ordering the Pentagon and the various branches of the military to stop having events connected to heritage and awareness months, such as Pride Month, Black History Month, and Women's History Month, arguing that it could damage unity.
The documents seen by CBS News say that Phelan should select a new name for the USNS Harvey Milk on Tuesday and that notifications of the new name would be sent to other Navy officials later in the week following a legal review.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Betty Who is stripping down & making us sweat with her steamy new music
Once again, Betty Who is blessing the LGBTQ+ community with incredible music. After three years, the queer singer is kicking off a brand new era by is releasing her own original music as an independent artist. Her first empowering single "Run!" is literally designed to keep the gays moving and remaining optimistic during these challenging times. "A lot of the music that'll be coming your way is a little bit tongue-in-cheek! Ultimately, I'm a silly little goose who wants to write a big bridge. Leaning into the things that make me, me, is now what this era is about," Who tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Who is also showing plenty of skin in the visuals for her second single "SWEAT," which comes out this Friday and just before Pride Month begins. "Pride season is coming up! It is my Mariah Carey Christmas season. I am in my cryogenic freezer and I am defrosting as we speak! I feel my season coming. It's time! The next song is for Pride. It's for the club. In the club, we all fam!" Beyond the clubs, Who is also hitting the road this summer and performing all of her biggest hits. The star is even slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival in Washington, D.C. "This is my city! These are my people! I'm very excited to show both sides of me at WorldPride. You better believe... I will be performing my set, and then I will be taking my drag off and going to watch Ms. Rita Ora and Jennifer Lopez. What a night to be alive!" Although the political climate is raising concerns for many tourists around the world, Who is reminding everyone to remain steadfast and unafraid to live out and proud. "To my LGBTQIA+ sisters, brothers, and everyone in between in the community, don't give too much of your time and energy to the people who don't get it. Save it all for the people who do and celebrate you for who you are! You can't let other people hold you back from living your life and feeling the joy you absolutely deserve to feel." Fans can get tickets to the WorldPride Music Festival now. To see the full interview with Betty Who, check out the video at the top of the page.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hegseth praises ‘near consensus' to raise NATO defense spending target to 5% of GDP
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said after a meeting with alliance counterparts in Brussels that there was a 'near consensus' over raising NATO's defense spending target to 5% of GDP. 'Countries in there are well exceeding 2% and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a 5% commitment for Nato,' Hegseth said. The alliance is expected to sign a new pledge at a NATO summit this month increasing defense spending targets to 3.5% of GDP and add a 1.5% target for security-related infrastructure such as cyber capabilities and transportation. Many countries already spend roughly 1.5% of GDP on the types of infrastructure expected to be included in the pledge, but the figure would allow US President Donald Trump to say the alliance is setting the 5% spending target he has demanded, a Western official told Semafor.
CBS News
26 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump's travel ban is set to begin Monday. Here's what to know.
What to know about President Trump's travel ban on nationals from 12 countries What to know about Trump's new travel ban What to know about Trump's new travel ban Washington — President Trump signed a proclamation late Wednesday barring travelers and immigrants from a dozen countries and restricting the entry of nationals from seven other nations. With the move, the White House cited concerns about national security. The president said the recent attack at a march supporting Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, had "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas." "We don't want them," Mr. Trump said. Here's what to know about the travel bans: Who does the ban apply to? With some exceptions, the proclamation bans the entry of foreigners from 12 countries who are seeking to come to the U.S. permanently as legal immigrants, as well as those with temporary visas, including tourists: Afghanistan Myanmar Chad The Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan Yemen President Trump announced that the U.S. would bar entry to nationals from these 12 countries, with few exceptions, citing national security concerns. CBS News The proclamation also partially suspends the entry of travelers and immigrants from another seven countries. This restriction applies to legal immigrants seeking to move to the U.S. and certain temporary visa holders who hail from the following countries: Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela When does the ban take effect? The ban is set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 9. Why were the countries selected? On the first day of his second administration, Mr. Trump directed officials to perform a security review of high-risk regions and make recommendations for where immigration and travel restrictions should be imposed. The president said the factors considered were "the largescale presence of terrorists, failure to cooperate on visa security, inability to verify travelers' identities, inadequate record keeping of criminal histories and persistently high rates of illegal visa overstays, and other things." "Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States," Mr. Trump said. The president cited the recent attack in Boulder, where an Egyptian national was charged, as part of the justification for the bans. Egypt is not among the countries on the White House's list. But the proclamation directed officials to assess the "adequacy" of Egypt's vetting policies "in light of recent events." Are there exceptions to the new travel ban? The president's decree contains certain exemptions, including for U.S. permanent residents and the spouses and children of U.S. citizens who have "clear and convincing evidence of identity and family relationship." The proclamation also outlines exemptions for Afghans who assisted American forces and have special visas; diplomats, athletes coming to the U.S. for the World Cup, the Olympics and other major sporting events; dual nationals with a passport from a country not listed in the president's decree; and for adoptions. Mr. Trump said the list could be revised if countries make "material improvements," and new countries could be added "as threats emerge around the world." Did Trump do this before? The president's actions follow a series of travel bans issued during his first administration that initially targeted predominantly Muslim countries. Like those orders, his latest proclamation could be subject to lawsuits, although the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the revised ban from his first term, which the White House noted in a fact sheet outlining his second-term bans. The president touted his first-term travel bans in his video statement released Wednesday. "In my first term, my powerful travel restrictions were one of our most successful policies, and they were a key part of preventing major foreign terror attacks on American soil," Mr. Trump said. In January 2017, Mr. Trump signed a travel ban restricting the entry of most citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The ban sparked widespread outcry, creating chaos at airports and prompting legal challenges, as opponents argued the ban was discriminatory. Then in March 2017, Mr. Trump removed Iraq from the list and added Chad, Venezuela and North Korea. The president expanded the ban in 2020, adding immigration restrictions for nationals of Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan. Chad was later removed from the list. The third iteration of the president's first-term ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in the summer of 2018. At the time, conservative justices cited the president's broad authority to restrict the entry of foreigners on national security grounds. When President Joe Biden took office, he scrapped that ban.
