Maddow Blog-Pete Hegseth orders the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Navy tradition and basic decency make clear the beleaguered defense secretary shouldn’t rename the ship. Hegseth is doing it anyway.

Navy traditions — and basic decency — make clear that Pete Hegseth shouldn't re-name the USNS Harvey Milk.

The beleaguered, scandal-plagued defense secretary is doing it anyway. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-06-03T19:36:06.567Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pete-hegseth-orders-navy-rename-usns-harvey-milk-rcna210721

Soon after becoming the nation’s latest defense secretary, Pete Hegseth went right to work tackling one of his top priorities: He started renaming things.....

Evidently, he wasn’t kidding. Military.com reported:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to take the rare step of renaming a ship, one that bears the name of a gay rights icon, documents and sources show. Military.com reviewed a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy — the official who holds the power to name Navy ships — that showed the sea service had come up with rollout plans for the renaming of the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk.

NBC News confirmed the reporting, adding that the change is likely to be implemented quickly.

When then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced nearly a decade ago that the service would name a fleet oiler after Milk, it wasn’t especially controversial. Milk came from a Navy family, served in the Navy stateside during the Korean War on a submarine rescue ship, and was honorably discharged after four years. He went on to become a celebrated civil rights pioneer in San Francisco and popular local elected official.

So why in the world would Hegseth want to name the ship? The defense secretary hasn’t publicly commented, but the fact that Milk was gay apparently mattered a great deal......

Hegseth, evidently, is prioritizing his culture war agenda over Navy traditions.

“

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,”

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said in a written 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.”

The California Democrat added, “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.”

[Biophilic]

1. These people have neither honor no integrity.

Who would want to be like them? What woman would want to be married to them. They are such small, miserable examples of humanity.

[2MuchNoise]

2. This makes me sick.

[Demovictory9]

17. Me too!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. Pete Hogsbreth... what a petty POS!!

[sunflowerseed]

4. Big manly man, Does he need a safe place

[Irish_Dem]

5. Big manly man Hegseth has to rape women to get sex.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Harvey Milk was a remarkable American and leader.

He deserves respect and accolades.

[Oopsie Daisy]

7. What I'm thinking would be illegal to say out loud or to post here. That is all.

I'll leave it up to your imagination.

[Hekate]

8. Whiskey Pete looks very stressed & unhappy with his life in that photo. Poor baby.

[Jit423]

9. All the gays in the Navy should protest.

The numbers will surprise even Lindsey Graham.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. Seriously Kegbreath?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Harriet Tubman is too "woke" for Pete Hegseth

Hegseth is a racist asshole

Link to tweet

[electric_blue68]

13. Disgusting. Racist, sexist, homophobic...

What a guy!

[appmanga]

12. These idiots probably would have FDR's name taken off vessels too...

...because the "woke" Navy only named them after him because he was disabled.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. VoteVets slams decision to strip Harvey Milk's name from Navy ship.

🚨NEW: VoteVets slams decision to strip Harvey Milk’s name from Navy ship.

“This isn’t just offensive—it’s a calculated act of disrespect.”

It's not about tradition. It’s about forcing out those who don’t fit Hegseth’s 1980s action figure fantasy of service.

FULL STATEMENT ⬇️

— VoteVets (@votevets.org) 2025-06-03T21:08:07.232Z

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. Harvey Milk was also a Navy Veteran.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

16. Harvey Milk Navy Ship To Be Renamed--Vets Call It 'Insult to LGBTQ Troops'

It was no accident that Hegseth did this at the start of Pride Month

Harvey Milk Navy Ship To Be Renamed—Vets Call It 'Insult to LGBTQ Troops' www.newsweek.com/pete-hegseth...

— UncoverTheNews (@uncoverthenews.bsky.social) 2025-06-04T11:23:18.459Z

https://www.newsweek.com/pete-hegseth-renaming-harvey-milk-navy-ship-sparks-fury-veterans-group-2080673

A veterans group has accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of a "deliberate insult to LGBTQ" troops by renaming a ship carrying the name of the prominent gay rights activist and Navy veteran Harvey Milk.

The order to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a replenishment oiler, was issued in a memorandum from the office of the Secretary of the Navy, according to CBS News.

"At the start of Pride Month, Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to strip Harvey Milk's name from a ship," VoteVotes, a progressive veterans activist group, posted to X, formerly Twitter.

"A man who served with honor—erased to send a message. This is a deliberate insult to LGBTQ Troops and Americans that weakens our force and shreds the values we fight for."....

The renaming of the ship marks the latest move by Hegseth and the wider Trump administration to purge departments of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The documents also show that other Navy vessels named after prominent American figures are on a "recommended list" to be renamed. These include USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez and USNS Medgar Evers.

[Demovictory9]

18. "It's a broadside so juvenile and homophobic it's something one might expect to hear in a fraternity house rather than t

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/pete-hegseth-harvey-milk-pride-month-navy-ship-rcna210959

While refusing to confirm the renaming, Department of Defense spokesperson Sean Parnell issued a statement saying, “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.”

It’s not hard to read between the lines here: “Gay service members can’t be warriors and aren’t tough enough to serve in the military.” It’s a broadside so juvenile and homophobic it’s something one might expect to hear in a fraternity house rather than the halls of the nation’s military.