Hegseth’s Erasure of Harvey Milk Sends a Dangerous Message During Pride Month

During a month meant to honor LGBTQ+ contributions to American life, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has chosen instead to erase them. Reports that the Pentagon is renaming the USNS Harvey Milk, a Navy ship honoring one of America’s most iconic gay rights pioneers, mark a deliberate and inflammatory assault on decades of progress and inclusion within the U.S. military.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California and a former Navy officer, was a symbol of courage, service, and sacrifice. Milk’s legacy as both a veteran and a civil rights icon was recognized by the Navy when it named a John Lewis-class oiler after him. That decision stood as an acknowledgement that the military, like America itself, is strengthened by its diversity. Pete Hegseth’s move to reverse it and rename USNS Harvey Milk—intentionally timed to coincide with Pride Month—is not only petty but profoundly disrespectful.

This action during Pride Month doesn’t stand alone. Since taking office, Pete Hegseth has launched a systematic campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the armed forces. He’s called DEI the “single dumbest phrase in military history” and pushed for a vision of the military that excludes women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Under his watch, the Pentagon has rolled back transgender service member protections, fired top female and minority military leaders, and scrubbed tens of thousands of images of diverse service members from its public websites.

Pete Hegseth’s defenders may argue that he’s prioritizing military readiness, but his actions suggest something much more ideological: a rejection of the very notion that people from marginalized communities can be patriots, leaders, and warriors. Erasing Harvey Milk’s name—and potentially those of Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Harriet Tubman from other Navy vessels—sends a clear signal: only white, straight men are worthy of recognition in Hegseth’s military.

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This is not just a symbolic fight. It’s about whether the armed forces reflect the country they serve. It’s about whether young LGBTQ+ Americans, Black Americans, or women see a place for themselves in national service. It’s about whether history gets told in full, or scrubbed to fit a narrow, regressive narrative.

The military has long served as a bellwether for social change—from desegregation under Truman to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Pete Hegseth’s reversal of that legacy is a chilling reminder to the LGBTQ+ that progress is not guaranteed.

At a time when America faces complex, global threats, we need the best minds and most capable individuals from every walk of life. Honoring heroes like Harvey Milk is not a distraction—it’s a declaration of what kind of country we want to be. By stripping his name from a Navy ship, Hegseth isn’t protecting the military—he’s undermining it. Best during Pride Month to show a middle finger.