Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly ordered for the USNS Harvey Milk to be renamed in time for pride month in an intentional symbolic repudiation of LGBT ideology seeping into the armed forces.
An internal memo from Navy Secretary John Phelan informed that the ship was going to be renamed later this month in “alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture,” according to Military.com.
While the memo came from Phelan, it was based on an order from Hegseth, according to a defense official who spoke to the military news outlet. An official confirmed that the timing during pride month was intentional.
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Other ships in the John Lewis-class oilers are also potentially slated for renaming, such as the USNS Harriet Tubman and the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to CBS News. The ships commissioned during the Obama administration were named for prominent civil rights figures. The ship named for Milk was announced in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
The move has drawn criticism from California politicians such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who represents San Francisco’s district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She accused the Trump administration of renaming ships in a spirit of vindictiveness, and characterized the renaming as “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,” Pelosi said.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also denounced the renaming, writing, “Harvey Milk was a veteran, a dedicated public servant, and an LGBTQ trailblazer. He showed courage and grit in just about everything he did. Despite Trump’s best efforts, the president will never tarnish that legacy.”
Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in the United States, serving as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from Jan. 8, 1978, until his assassination later that year on Nov. 27.
During his brief time in office, he sponsored a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing and employment, which later became law. He was assassinated by Dan White, a former city supervisor who cast the sole vote against Milk’s bill.
Milk also served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, but was dishonorably discharged because of his sexual behavior, according to his biography.
Milk has faced allegations of predatory behavior and statutory rape against boys that stem primarily from his relationship with Jack Galen McKinley, who was a 16-year-old runaway when Milk met him in his 30s in New York. McKinley struggled with drug addiction and ultimately “died suddenly” at 33, according to a local obituary.
Another young man Milk had a relationship with was 25-year-old Jack Lira, who struggled with alcoholism and hanged himself from Milk’s back porch in 1978, according to The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.
The controversy over the USNS Harvey Milk comes amid a broader purge of LGBT- and DEI-related ideology from the U.S. military, which has included a ban on openly trans-identified individuals. The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a lower court injunction on the ban last month.
The defense secretary has come under fire for his outspoken Christianity, which led to accusations of violating the U.S. Constitution last month when he led a voluntary prayer service at the Pentagon. During his prayer, he addressed Jesus Christ as king and invoked His wisdom for guidance.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
