Defense secretary orders Navy to rename ship named after gay rights activist accused of being a predator
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename an oiler ship that the Obama administration had named after a gay rights activist, Military.com reported Tuesday.
In August 2016, then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus named a ship after Harvey Milk, a Navy veteran of the Korean War who became a gay rights icon in the 1970s. The first openly gay man elected to public office in California, Milk has been described as a “homosexual predator” for having an intimate relationship with 16-year-old Jack Galen McKinley when Milk was 33. Milk was assassinated in 1978.
On Tuesday, Military.com said it had reviewed a memo from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy that featured plans to rename the USNS Harvey Milk in "alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture.” A Department of Defense official reportedly told the news site that Secretary Hegseth ordered Navy Secretary John Phelan to rename the ship. The official also said the renaming was intentionally set to be announced on June 13th, in the middle of what gender activists have institutionalized as “Pride month.”
The USNS Harvey Milk is one of several John Lewis-class oilers, which are ships named after civil rights icons. The Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers such as the USNS Harriet Tubman, the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the USNS Thurgood Marshall.
Democrat fury
The news infuriated Democrat leaders.
“Erasing Harvey Milk’s name is disgusting, blatant discrimination—and during Pride Month to boot,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “He served the U.S. Navy and his country honorably, and he was assassinated while serving the public and fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. Hegseth should be ashamed of himself and reverse this immediately.”
Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also registered her outrage in a statement.
“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,” she said. “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.
“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.”
Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell did not confirm the renaming, which is reportedly set to be announced next week. “Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief’s priorities, our nation’s history, and the warrior ethos,” Parnell said in a statement Tuesday. “Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete.”
