U.S. Navy Considers Renaming CVN-81 After Donald Trump, Dropping WWII Hero's Name

U.S. Navy officials are reportedly discussing renaming the under-construction Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-81 after President Donald Trump, according to two separate reports. The proposal would replace the ship's current internal reference to the late World War II sailor Doris Miller, the first Black sailor to receive the Navy Cross.

Internal Navy communications have stopped using the name USS Doris Miller, and a recent White House proclamation about reverting the carrier’s catapult system referred to the vessel only by its hull number, CVN-81. The carrier is part of a fleet of at least ten new Ford-class ships slated to replace older Nimitz-class carriers. Already commissioned are the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS John F. Kennedy, with the next ships slated to be named USS Enterprise, USS William J. Clinton and USS George W. Bush.

Doris Miller earned the Navy Cross for his actions during the Pearl Harbor attack, where he operated an anti-aircraft gun despite lacking training, reportedly downed a Japanese aircraft and helped rescue wounded crew members.

The naming discussion occurs amid other recent controversies involving Trump’s name on public institutions, including a failed attempt to rename the John F. Kennedy Center and prior announcements of a “Trump-Class” battleship program that has not materialized.