Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the start of Pride Month to announce he has ordered an oil ship named after gay rights activist to be renamed.
According to Military.com, a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy John Phelan revealed the oiler USNS Harvey Milk would be given a new name.
Milk was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. In 1977, he became a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was assassinated in 1978, The Hill reported.
Milk served during the Korean War and was forced to resign because he was gay, which was a crime at that time.
USNS Harvey Milk was named in 2016.
The move sparked the ire of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who called the decision “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,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reacted the same way.
“Erasing Harvey Milk’s name is disgusting, blatant discrimination—and during Pride Month to boot,” he posted on X. “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,” Schumer added.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell released a statement regarding the change.
“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. “Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete.”
