United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the renaming of a US Navy ship named after trailblazing gay rights activist Harvey Milk, according to reports on Tuesday.

The USNS Harvey Milk was named after the assassinated former San Francisco politician and christened in 2021, as part of the John Lewis class of tankers.

The Associated Press and Reuters, citing an anonymous source, said the order came from Hegesth's office.

Defense news website Military.com said it had reviewed a memo from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy that said the move was in line with Hegseth's purported goal of "reestablishing a warrior culture" in the US armed forces.

CBS News said the navy is considering re-titling several other ships including two named after former US Supreme Court justices; Thurgood Marshall, the first Black member of the top court, and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

There was no immediate response from the Pentagon or the US Navy to various inquiries about the reports.

Trump administration seeking to end diversity programs

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has moved to ban transgender troops from the military and to dismantle diversity programs, claiming they "undermine leadership, merit, and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness." 

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has eliminated diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and ended observances of identity celebrations such as Black History Month.

In February, Hegseth chided past celebrations of the US military's diversity in a broad address to Pentagon staff, saying: "I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is 'our diversity is our strength."

Pelosi slams reported renaming

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, condemned the reported move to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, calling it "a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream."

"Harvey Milk proudly served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and was a formidable force for change, not just in California, but in our country," the California congresswoman said in a statement. Pelosi's congressional district covers the majority of the city of San Francisco. 

"This spiteful move... is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country." 

Who was Harvey Milk?

Harvey Milk served as a US Navy diver at a time when there was a ban on homosexuality in the military and was one of the first openly gay politicians in America.

Milk was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, where he was instrumental in passing laws banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Months later, in 1978, Milk was shot dead along with mayor George Moscone, by a disgruntled former city supervisor.

Milk's murder helped cement his reputation as a civil rights icon, and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Edited by: Zac Crellin