Stop Renaming Ships

Floor Speech

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Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, Defense Secretary Hegseth should be one of the busiest people on the planet, defending our country and leading nearly 3 million courageous Americans in our Armed Forces. It is an awesome responsibility.

This week, Pete Hegseth spent his precious time deciding that a naval ship named after a veteran is just too gay for him.

Harvey Milk was an American hero, a civil rights leader, and the first openly gay official in California. He served his country in the Navy. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all, and he was assassinated while serving in public office. His memory is worthy of dignity and respect.

Removing his name from a ship is small and it is petty. It is obviously an attempt to erase the history of anyone who shows resistance to this administration. That is what autocrats and authoritarians do.

Since Secretary Hegseth took the helm, the Department of Defense has been fraught with national security risks and constant drama. I urge him to stop spending his time renaming ships because he wants to pretend that we don't exist. He should do his damn job.

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