Harvey Milk Navy Ship Renaming Sparks Outrage

Defense Secretary Orders Removal of Harvey Milk’s Name from Navy Ship

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (June 4, 2025) — In a controversial move, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the US Navy to remove the name of slain gay rights icon Harvey Milk from a Navy vessel, the USNS Harvey Milk. This directive is part of a broader campaign spearheaded by President Donald Trump to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the US military.

The order, confirmed by multiple defense officials speaking on condition of anonymity, comes just days into Pride Month and has not yet been publicly announced by the Navy. The internal memo outlining the renaming was first reported by Military.com on Tuesday.

The USNS Harvey Milk was originally named in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to honor Milk’s service as a Navy veteran and his pioneering activism as one of the first openly gay elected officials in California. Milk, who served in the Navy during the 1950s before being forced out due to his sexual orientation, became a leading voice for gay rights until his assassination in 1978 by a fellow San Francisco Board of Supervisors member.

The move to strip Milk’s name from the replenishment oiler is part of the Trump administration’s push to restore what it describes as a “warrior culture” in the military, free from DEI initiatives and symbols. The new name for the ship has not yet been chosen.

The decision has sparked outrage from Democratic leaders and LGBTQ advocates. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the move as “a shameful, vindictive erasure of a civil rights icon’s legacy,” while California Governor Gavin Newsom called it “proof of Trump’s contempt for the very values our veterans have always fought to protect.”

The future of other Navy ships named after civil rights leaders is also unclear. The John Lewis-class fleet includes ships named for John Lewis, Earl Warren, Robert F. Kennedy, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth — all of which could potentially be renamed under the new directive.

As the Biden administration and LGBTQ advocates brace for further rollbacks of DEI programs, the fate of these historic names remains a contentious and closely watched battle.

(Photo Courtesy of U.S. Naval Institute)

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