U.S. Navy leadership is considering renaming the Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-81—originally designated the USS Doris Miller to honor a Black Pearl Harbor hero—after President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Navy may alter the historic legacy of its next major warship as officials weigh renaming the vessel to honor a sitting president instead of an enlisted African American sailor. Internal discussions regarding the potential moniker shift for the future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier have been ongoing for several months, according to reports from Nbcnews and The Daily Beast.
The Legacy of Doris Miller and the 2020 Historic Designation
The vessel in question, currently identified in internal documents and a recent White House executive order by its hull number CVN-81, was originally touted during Donald Trump’s first term as a tribute to Doris “Dorie” Miller. Miller was a mess attendant second class aboard the battleship USS West Virginia when Japanese warplanes bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Though untrained on the heavy weaponry, Miller rushed to the smoking deck, took control of an anti-aircraft gun, and fired. He subsequently helped drag wounded sailors to safety. For his extraordinary valor, Miller became the first Black service member to receive the Navy Cross, presented to him by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz aboard the USS Enterprise on May 27, 1942.
During a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony in January 2020, then-Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly announced that the Ford-class carrier would be named the USS Doris Miller. At the ceremony, Modly noted that Miller would not be defined by the prejudice of other people, establishing the ship as a groundbreaking milestone: the first aircraft carrier named after both an enlisted sailor and an African American.
Internal Discussions and the Push for a Presidential Name
While aircraft carriers are usually named after U.S. presidents, destroyers are often named after Medal of Honor recipients. Amid the current administrative review of military assets, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has reportedly examined official guidance governing ship names. Leadership has quietly stopped referring to CVN-81 as the USS Doris Miller in internal communications.
Under the reported alternative plan, the Navy plans to name a different warship after Miller while simultaneously recommending the Pearl Harbor hero for the Medal of Honor. Miller’s great-nephew, Thomas Bledsoe, told CNN that the family had not been notified of the Medal of Honor recommendation beforehand, though he called the administrative move very positive
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However, securing the nation’s highest military decoration for Miller would require final approval from the White House. At the same time, shifting the carrier’s name to honor Donald Trump would mark an unprecedented move to name an aircraft carrier after a sitting president.
Tight Deadlines and Construction Realities Ahead
The debate comes at a critical juncture for ship construction. The fourth Ford-class carrier is currently being built and is not scheduled to join the fleet until 2034. Despite the distant delivery date, Navy leadership faces a strict time crunch to settle the official nomenclature before the ship’s keel-laying ceremony, expected toward the end of 2026.
Adding to the structural changes, a recent executive order issued by the White House tasks the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy with devising a plan to replace the ship’s electromagnetic aircraft launch system with steam and hydraulic systems. Ship-naming authority formally rests with the Navy Secretary, though defense secretaries remain deeply involved in carrier designations.
Broader Pentagon Friction and Official Responses
The carrier renaming deliberations unfold against a backdrop of wider scrutiny over naval deployments and military conditions. The administration recently faced intense questioning regarding the prolonged deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, which spent months at sea amid regional tensions, prompting reports from sailors’ families regarding exhaustion and out-of-service facilities.
When asked by reporters about the mental health toll of extended deployments, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the operations and asserted that public reports had completely misrepresented conditions aboard.
As the Pentagon navigates these intersecting policy reviews, neither the White House nor the Navy has formally announced a definitive final decision regarding the official name of CVN-81 ahead of the approaching keel-laying milestone.
