US Navy to rename oil tanker named after gay activist
The US Navy will rename an oil tanker that had been named after slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, US officials have told Reuters.
It's the military's latest move under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to root out diversity, equity and inclusion.
In 2016, the US Navy said it would name one of its new class of oil tankers after Milk, a Navy veteran who later became one of the first openly gay people elected to public office in the US.
The USNS Harvey Milk was christened in 2021, as part of the John Lewis class of tankers.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the directive for the change came from Hegseth's office.
It was unclear when the renaming would actually take place, but the official noted that June is Pride Month, observed annually to honour the LGBTQ rights movement.
Another official said it would not be surprising if additional ships in the John Lewis class were renamed, since other tankers honoured civil rights and human rights leaders.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth was committed to ensuring names of military installations and equipment "are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos".
"Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete," Parnell said.
Milk served in the US Navy in 1951 as a diving officer during the Korean War. Elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors as the first openly gay California politician, he was killed in office in 1978.
Since taking office in January, Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has eliminated diversity initiatives at the Pentagon, ended observances of identity celebrations such as Black History Month and removed some books from the Naval Academy, including the memoir of celebrated Black author Maya Angelou.
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X the move to change the tanker's name was "disgusting" and "blatant discrimination".
"Hegseth should be ashamed of himself and reverse this immediately," Schumer said X.
In February, Hegseth chided past celebrations of the US military's diversity in a broad address to Pentagon staff, saying: "I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is 'our diversity is our strength'".
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