The optics of renaming a ship from a Black war hero to the sitting president are poor—but skeptics have opposed the naming of the future USS Doris Miller for years.

The United States Navy is reportedly considering renaming the fourth nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier. The warship, which was officially ordered during President Donald Trump’s first term, is currently planned to be named for Messman Second Class Doris Miller, a mess attendant on the battleship USS West Virginia who became the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

However, the future aircraft carrier—which has yet to begin major construction—might be named for Trump instead of Miller, CNN first reported on Thursday, citing three sources familiar with internal US Navy discussions. Even if it isn’t named for Trump, it could be named for someone other than Miller.

“It’s unclear what the Navy is seeking to change the name of the carrier to, though two of the sources said there have been internal conversations about renaming it to honor Trump,” CNN explained.

Though many aircraft carriers have been named for US presidents, the Navy traditionally waits until a president has left office before commissioning a warship in his honor. It would be unprecedented for any warship, especially an aircraft carrier, to be named for a sitting president—though it should be noted that the future CVN-81 won’t be completed until the mid-2030s, well after Trump is out of office.

Doris Miller’s Heroic Service

Doris Miller was aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) anchored in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft launched a surprise attack on the naval base. After a torpedo destroyed his assigned battle station, Miller reported to the bridge, carried the ship’s mortally wounded captain away from the heavy fire, and guided other injured sailors through oil and water to safety.

After others had safely evacuated the burning battleship, Miller then manned a .50-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun on board, despite having no prior training. He fired at Japanese aircraft—shooting down between two and six, according to conflicting eyewitness reports—until he was ordered to abandon ship before its sinking.

For his heroic actions, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross, presented to him by Admiral Chester Nimitz in May 1942. Eighteen months later, in November 1943, Miller was killed when his ship, the Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), was torpedoed and sunk while supporting the invasion of Makin Island.

The Ford-Class Carrier Would Be the Second Ship Named after Doris Miller

The first ship named in Miller’s honor was the Knox-class destroyer escort USS Miller (FF-1091), which served from June 1973 until October 1991. The US Navy announced that the fourth Ford-class carrier would also be named for Miller in January 2020.

The “First Cut of Steel” ceremony for the future aircraft carrier was held at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia nearly five years ago on August 25, 2021, with six members of Miller’s family in attendance. Current plans call for the keel to be laid down later this year, after being delayed due to the progress on the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80).

Was Naming the Carrier for Miller the Right Choice?

Since it was announced that CVN-81 would be named for Miller, there has been no shortage of detractors second-guessing the name.

The US Navy has never been consistent with its naming schema for aircraft carriers. The very first carrier, USS Langley (CV-1), was named for American astronomer and aviation pioneer and former Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Samuel Pierpont Langley. In the lead-up to World War II, many flattops were named for famed battles—USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga (CV-3), for instance. And during the war, other carriers were named for famous past warships, such as the USS Enterprise (CV-6, later CVN-65), USS Wasp (CV-7, later CV-18), and USS Hornet (CV-8, later CV-12). No carriers were named for actual sailors until the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), named for Admiral Chester Nimitz, the highest-ranking US Navy admiral of World War II.

Nearly all of the modern nuclear-powered carriers, after USS Enterprise (CVN-65), have been named for US presidents. The Nimitz is an exception to this rule, along with the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), each named for members of Congress with longstanding military ties.

These are the current and future aircraft carriers in the US Navy fleet named for presidents:

• USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) 
• USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) 
• USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) 
• USS George Washington (CVN-73) 
• USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)  
• USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)  
• USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)  
• USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)  
• USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79)
• USS William J. Clinton (CVN-82) 
• USS George W. Bush (CVN-83) 

The list of current and future carriers named for non-presidents—members of Congress, former naval officers, or previous warships—is far shorter:

• USS Nimitz (CVN-68) – US Navy admiral
• USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) – congressman
• USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) – congressman
• USS Enterprise (CVN-80) – former warship
• USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) – US Navy sailor

CVN-81 is unique in that it is named for an enlisted sailor, and would also be the first aircraft carrier named in honor of a Black man. Critics of the original naming decision argue that their skepticism of the name isn’t related to the color of Miller’s skin, but that he simply wasn’t a big enough hero to justify his name on one of the largest warships in history.

Indeed, laudable though it was, Miller’s role in World War II was clearly smaller than that of Chester Nimitz or Dwight D. Eisenhower. And as the name’s detractors note, Miller wasn’t an aviator; he gained his fame from actions on a battleship, and only briefly served on an escort aircraft carrier.

More partisan critics have gone a step further, alleging that the naming was the result of a “DEI” push within the US Navy that the current administration should reverse. Although it is rare for the US Navy to change a name once it has been designated, it has occasionally happened; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth notably renamed the USNS Harvey Milk, a John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler named for a gay rights activist, in honor of Oscar V. Peterson, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, in June 2025.

Hegseth has claimed that vessels shouldn’t have been named for civil rights leaders if they had no connection to the military. It should be noted, however, that Milk was a Navy veteran, while John C. Stennis never served.

Could Miller Posthumously Receive the Medal of Honor?

One way that the controversy could be defused would be for Congress to finally upgrade Miller’s Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor—a step that supporters have called for for decades. Even during Miller’s lifetime, his supporters argued that his actions were worthy of the Navy’s highest honor, but claimed that then-Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox had refused to award it over racial animus.

A Medal of Honor upgrade is certainly something that Miller’s family and his supporters would approve of, and it would strengthen the case for leaving his name intact on the future carrier. Of course, it would ultimately require Trump’s approval, too.

If Not Miller, Then Who? Trump Has an Idea

If the carrier is ultimately renamed, who else should receive the honor?

In the post-World War II era, nearly every president has had a naval vessel named for them. The final two Nimitz-class carriers were named for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; the next Ford-class carrier is named for slain former president John F. Kennedy; and President Joe Biden announced in January 2025 that the future Ford-class CVN-82 and CVN-83 would be named for Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, respectively.

There are few remaining presidents to choose from. Jimmy Carter, a submariner, already has a Seawolf-class submarine named in his honor, while Lyndon Johnson, a decorated Navy veteran, has a Zumwalt-class destroyer named for him. Richard Nixon, also a Navy veteran, is another option—but owing to the acrimonious circumstances surrounding his departure from the White House, few expect a warship ever to be named for him.

That leaves Barack Obama, Biden, and Trump, and it is not hard to guess which of the three names Trump would prefer. After all, the president has already sought to put his name on anything and everything during his second term.

The new renaming could even be part of a plan within the Pentagon leadership to curry favor with the president in a moment of crisis—particularly as Trump’s proposed eponymous battleships face seemingly insurmountable odds in Congress. Scuttling the planned warships may require compromise with the commander-in-chief, and one way to soothe Trump’s anger could be naming a carrier for him instead. Stranger things have happened during this administration.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

The post US Navy Could Rename Future USS Doris Miller Carrier After Trump appeared first on The National Interest.