WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy plans to rename ship the USNS Harvey Milk, which is homeported in Norfolk, a John Lewis-class replenishment oiler named for the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, according to CNN.
The Navy is also considering renaming other ships in the John Lewis class, like the future USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and future USNS Harriet Tubman, according to a report from CBS News.
Harvey Milk, an icon in the LGBTQ+ community, was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, and was assassinated while in office; Ruth Bader Ginsburg served on the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 30 years, presiding over crucial opinions in the court; and Harriet Tubman was a former slave who became an abolitionist and activist, and is credited as one of the "engineers" of the Underground Railroad who personally led more than 300 slaves to freedom.
The class of oiler ships is named for its first ship, the USNS John Lewis, named for the Civil Rights leader who participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. and later became a U.S. congressman.
All of the ships in the John Lewis class were thus to be named for prominent voices in the Civil Rights movement, abolitionists, suffragists, labor leaders, and others.
The USNS Harvey Milk, which has been in service since 2023, is homeported in Norfolk.
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CBS News reported that documents mention a "recommended list" for name changes, including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, named for the first Black justice on the Supreme Court, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, named for the labor and feminist leader, USNS Lucy Stone, named for the suffragist and abolitionist, the USNS Cesar Chavez, named for the American Civil Rights leader and activist, and the USNS Medgar Evers, named for the Civil Rights activist.
The USNS Harvey Milk has been in service for about two years; several of the other ships on the "recommended list" are under construction, or not yet under construction, but have been named.
"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," Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi told CBS News in statement. "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."
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The announcement comes at the beginning of June, where Pride Month is celebrated in the U.S., and follows a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to cease U.S. military participation in events celebrating heritage or awareness months.
According to the CBS News report, "documents obtained by CBS News were not marked with the traditional classification markers typically seen on Defense Department memos. The documents were not marked as 'For Official Use Only' or 'Controlled Unclassified Information,' they were also not marked to indicate they were drafts. There was a 'CAUTION' note, however, referring to the information as publicly sensitive."
The memo, CBS reports, said the renaming of these ships is meant to align with the Trump administration's aim to reestablish "the warrior culture."
Military.com reported the USNS Harvey Milk name change on Tuesday but the memo regarding the other ships was first reported by CBS.
CBS reports that the Navy has renamed ships for various reasons in the past, a name change after the ship enters active service is "exceptionally rare."
