Marking the beginning of Pride month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to strip the name of gay rights activist Harvey Milk from one of its ships.
A defense official confirmed the timing was intentional, signaling a decisive shift from woke military policies.
The removal of Milk’s name from the Navy vessel comes as part of Hegseth’s broader initiative to restore a “warrior culture” to America’s armed forces.
The move breaks with the woke trend of naming ships after liberal figures rather than military heroes or traditional naval designations that honor American military strength and heritage.
Currently undergoing maintenance in Alabama, the Navy ship was named in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus during the Obama administration.
The vessel is part of a series of ships named after civil rights activists, including vessels honoring Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Harriet Tubman, all of which may now face similar renaming orders.
The directive aligns with Hegseth’s recent order to cease hosting events tied to heritage or awareness months, including Pride Month celebrations
These decisions reflect the Trump administration’s commitment to refocusing the military on its primary national defense mission rather than social experimentation.
According to a memo explaining the decision, the name change represents an “alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture.”
Renaming ships is considered rare in Navy tradition, making Hegseth’s decision particularly significant.
BREAKING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the renaming of a ship named after Harvey Milk, a "gay rights icon."
I love that Hegseth waited until "Pride Month" to get this done. That makes my soul happy. pic.twitter.com/DB7y0OMlXW
— George (@BehizyTweets) June 3, 2025
The new name for the vessel will be announced aboard the historic USS Constitution.
The move suggests the replacement will likely honor America’s naval heritage rather than a political figure. The ship is expected to complete its maintenance by the end of June.
While Harvey Milk did serve in the Navy from 1951 to 1955 and received an honorable discharge, his legacy has been primarily defined by his later political activism as one of the first openly gay men elected to public office.
Milk served as a San Francisco supervisor before being assassinated in 1978.
Democrats have expressed outrage over the decision. Nancy Pelosi called the move “a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers.”
The Biden administration had previously used the military to push progressive social policies.
These included transgender surgeries for service members and DEI training that many veterans and active-duty personnel have criticized as divisive and distracting from combat readiness.
For Americans concerned about military readiness, Hegseth’s decision represents a welcome return to the core mission of the armed forcesÑ defending the nation rather than advancing social causes.
The new Pentagon leadership appears committed to rebuilding America’s military strength and focusing on the warrior ethos that has historically made forces the most formidable in the world.
