3 weeks ago
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the oiler ship that was named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The announcement comes just days after the start of Pride Month.
The change in the name was first reported by Military.com, which viewed a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy to change the name of the ship.
The USNS Harvey Milk was names in August 2016, according to CBS News, during a ceremony in San Francisco. Milk was the first openly gay politician to be elected to office in California in 1977 and held a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was later assassinated in 1978.
According to CBS, there are also a number of other vessels on the Navy's renaming "recommended list." Others on the list include the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez and USNS Medgar Evers. According to a memo looked at by the outlet, the renaming is part of Hegseth's effort to "reestablishing the warrior culture" in the US military.
Since becoming the Secretary of Defense, Hegseth has moved to dismantle any diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and has taken up an effort to help return what he has called the “warrior ethos” to the US military.
Democratic politicians took issue with the move from Hegseth, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying, "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."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted in a statement, "Erasing Harvey Milk’s name is disgusting, blatant discrimination—and during Pride Month to boot. He served the U.S. Navy and his country honorably, and he was assassinated while serving the public and fighting for LGBTQ+ rights."
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