A resolution to keep the late Harvey Milk’s name on a U.S. Navy ship was torpedoed in the Senate by a single Republican senator, effectively silencing an effort to honor one of the most visible and beloved figures in LGBTQ+ history — and it happened right at the start of Pride Month.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California, a longtime ally to the LGBTQ+ community, attempted to pass a resolution urging the Pentagon to reconsider its decision to rename the USNS Harvey Milk. But it only took one objection — from North Carolina’s Sen. Ted Budd — to sink the motion. Budd claimed that naming ships “should be left to the Navy,” conveniently ignoring that the Navy had already done just that when it named the vessel after Milk in 2016.
Harvey Milk, a Navy veteran who was forced out with an “other than honorable” discharge because he was gay, went on to become a civil rights hero and the first openly gay elected official in California. Naming a Navy ship after him was not just symbolic — it was reparative. That name stood for visibility, for honor, for rewriting a wrong. Now, the Pentagon seems ready to erase that history again.
A Pride Month Slap in the Face
Let’s be real: the timing of this decision isn’t just shady — it’s hostile. Schiff made it clear he found it more than coincidental that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the potential renaming at the start of Pride Month and while WorldPride events were underway in Washington. Schiff’s resolution, supported by Sen. Alex Padilla, sought only to reaffirm that civil rights leaders like Milk deserve to be honored by the military — but apparently, even that was too much for Budd and his ilk.
“What message does this send to young queer Americans?” Schiff asked from the Senate floor. “That their history doesn’t matter? That their contributions are disposable?” He reminded his colleagues that the Navy class of ships named after Milk includes other trailblazers like John Lewis, Cesar Chavez, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If this is about “warrior culture,” as Hegseth claims, then what exactly does erasing queer, Black, Jewish, and female leaders have to do with national strength?
The War on Visibility
This is part of a broader, ugly pattern. From banning drag queens and book readings to gutting DEI programs and removing civil rights names from military ships, the conservative crusade against visibility is escalating. The LGBTQ+ community is being told to sit down, be quiet, and be grateful — while their history is deleted name by name, law by law.
Schiff’s resolution wasn’t just about a ship — it was a stand against historical erasure. It would not have forced the Navy to keep Milk’s name, but it would have sent a strong message: that this country values its queer heroes. And one man said no.
So no, Sen. Budd, this isn’t just about naval tradition. This is about pride, memory, and resistance. And if you think the LGBTQ+ community is going to forget who stripped Harvey Milk’s name from that ship — during Pride Month no less — you’re in for a very long sail.