Hegseth orders US navy to strip Harvey Milk name from ship amid Pride month

Timing of announcement on ship named after prominent gay rights activist and veteran is intentional, reports say

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has ordered the US navy to strip the name of prominent gay rights activist and navy veteran Harvey Milk from a ship during the middle of June - a month meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community - according to multiple outlets.

The order to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler, was in a memorandum from the office of the secretary of the navy, which was reported on and viewed by Military.com and CBS. Those reports note that the navy secretary, John Phelan, was instructed to strip the ship of its name by Hegseth.