CA governor, and other state officials upset over renaming of USNS Harvey Milk

(The Center Square) - Elected officials in California are voicing contempt for plans to take gay rights activist and Navy veteran Harvey Milk's name off a U.S. naval ship.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment John Lewis-class oiler, according to military.com. Hegseth's order was done to align with President Donald Trump, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Hegseth’s priorities of “reestablishing the warrior culture," the website reported.

The Navy hasn't announced what the ship's new name will be.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the decision to remove Milk's name an “assault on veterans,” in a post on X Tuesday. In the same post, Newsom also said the renaming revealed Trump’s contempt for the values U.S. veterans fight to protect.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria followed suit in a separate post on X, claiming the decision disrespects Milk’s legacy as a veteran and civil rights activist, and insults LGBTQ history and service members. News of the decision came during LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

The naming ceremony for the USNS Harvey Milk, a John Lewis-class oiler, was done by previous Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in San Francisco in 2016, as a way of commemorating Milk’s activism in the city and service on the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors in 1977 before being assassinated in 1978. Mabus chose Milk because John Lewis ships are to be named after prominent civil rights leaders and activists, according to military.com. Lewis, a longtime congressman and civil rights activist, died in 2020.

The USNS Harvey Milk was built by the General Dynamics NASSCO yard in San Diego and christened in the San Diego Bay in 2021.

Alongside the Navy’s announcement to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, the Navy announced it is considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg and USNS Harriet Tubman, according to CBS News.

In a statement released Tuesday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat who continues to represent a congressional district that includes most of San Francisco, said the Trump administration's decision to rename multiple John Lewis-class oilers is an attempt to erase from history those who “fought to break down barriers” for all to have a chance at the American dream.

“In San Francisco, we take great pride that our Harvey’s name adorns a mighty ship among a new class of Navy vessels,” Pelosi said. “... 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.”

When contacted Wednesday by The Center Square, the Navy and the Department of Defense declined to comment.