Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Navy to rename a ship honoring late LGBTQ rights hero Harvey Milk — in a move intentionally set to coincide with Pride Month.

According to a memo from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy reviewed by Military.com, officials have already drawn up a plan for the USNS Harvey Milk to be renamed.

The ship is a John Lewis-class oiler, part of a series of vessels named after civil rights leaders and activists. While its new name has yet to be announced, Navy Secretary John Phelan and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth are expected to unveil the change on June 13, according to the memo.

An unnamed defense official confirmed to Military.com the decision to make the announcement in June was deliberate.

The move was slammed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a “shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream.”

Milk, who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, made history as California’s first openly gay elected official. He was assassinated inside San Francisco City Hall on Nov. 27, 1978 — just months after helping pass a landmark city ordinance banning discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation.

Before his short-lived career in public office, the trailblazing LGBTQ+ rights leader also served as a diving officer in the Navy, but resigned with the rank of lieutenant junior grade in 1955 after being questioned about his sexual orientation.

In late 2016, the Navy announced it would name a ship after the slain LGBTQ icon. Construction began in late 2019 and, two years later, Navy Veteran Paula Neira christened the Navy’s USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206) in a ceremony in San Diego Bay attended by state and local leaders.

“Harvey fought for the dignity and worth of every person,” Pelosi, who represents California’s 11th congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco, said in a statement Tuesday.

“In San Francisco, we take great pride that our Harvey’s name adorns a mighty ship among a new class of Navy vessels — named for the conscience of the Congress, John Lewis — which honors titans in the fight for freedom,” Pelosi said.

“As the rest of us are celebrating the joy of Pride Month, it is my hope that the Navy will reconsider this egregious decision and continue to recognize the extraordinary contributions of Harvey Milk, a veteran himself, and all Americans who forged historic progress for our nation,” she concluded.

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