Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a ship honoring the pioneering gay rights activist, during Pride Month.
A Pentagon official confirmed the timing was intentional. The move was initially reported by Military.com and verified by ABC News.
Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay men elected to public office in the U.S., won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 before being assassinated the following year.
Milk enlisted in the Navy in 1951, attended Officer Candidate School, and served as a diving instructor before resigning in 1955 “after being officially questioned about his sexual orientation,” according to the Harvey Milk Foundation.
The USNS Harvey Milk was part of a class of Navy ships named after civil rights figures. A replacement name has not been disclosed. Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan declined to comment when contacted by ABC News