The U.S. Navy is considering renaming the aircraft carrier currently designated USS Doris Miller—a Ford-class vessel intended to honor the Black sailor who showed heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack—after President Donald Trump, a rare move for a sitting president.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and his office are reviewing official Navy guidance on ship naming, including whether presidents should be honored with carriers. The effort, underway since earlier this year, marks a reversal from the initial announcement during Trump's first term.
Internally, the Navy has stopped using the ship's name, instead referring to it by its hull number, CVN-81. A recent White House executive order on shipbuilding also referenced the vessel solely by hull number.
Navy officials are working to name another warship after Doris Miller and are recommending him for the Medal of Honor, the military's highest decoration for valor. The recommendation requires final authorization from Congress and approval from President Trump.
Thomas Bledsoe, Miller's great-nephew, said the family had not been told about the carrier's potential name change. He called the Navy's renewed effort to award his great-uncle the Medal of Honor "very positive," noting the family has worked "for years" to secure the recognition.
Former Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, a Trump nominee, first announced the carrier would honor Miller in January 2020 during a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ceremony in Pearl Harbor. Modly, who served in Navy leadership from 2017 to 2020, highlighted Miller as "the son of a sharecrop. "
The keel-laying ceremony for CVN-81 is expected at year's end, but the carrier is not projected for delivery until 2034, a delay attributed to shipbuilder constraints. A recent White House executive order also tasked the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy with developing a plan to replace the ship's electromagnetic aircraft launch system with steam and hydraulic systems.
The Department of Defense declined to comment on the renaming discussions.
