Bill Would Block Navy From Replacing Carrier's Doris Miller Name for Trump's

"No president should ever christen a warship in his own honor, and no American hero should be erased to make room for one," Sen. Cory Booker said.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is pushing legislation to stop the Navy from stripping the name of a Black World War II hero from an aircraft carrier and renaming the ship for President Donald Trump.

Doris "Dorie" Miller was a mess attendant aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, one of the few roles open to Black sailors under the segregation of the era. The Navy has reportedly contemplated renaming the future USS Doris Miller, a carrier still under construction, after the president. No change has been finalized.

The Navy's consideration of the change has drawn objections from veterans, lawmakers and members of Miller's family, who see it as erasing a hard-won milestone in the service's history. Booker, in response, has introduced three bills that would block the change and tighten how the military names its warships.

Booker's bills are a preemptive move. As Military.com previously reported, the carrier was named for Miller in 2020, during Trump's first term.

Military.com reached out to Booker's office, the Department of Defense, the Navy and the White House for comment.

Who Doris Miller Was

During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Miller manned an anti-aircraft gun he had never been trained to use.

He was credited with downing at least one plane, and carrying wounded sailors to safety.

Miller became the first Black service member to receive the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest honor. He was killed in 1943 when the escort carrier he was serving on was sunk in the Pacific.

The carrier that bears his name would be the first aircraft carrier named for a Black American, and the first to honor an enlisted sailor's actions.

Booker's Three-Part Answer

Booker's bills aim to keep the ship as it is.

Introduced Sept. 30 and referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the bills take a layered approach:

• One would require the secretary of the Navy to establish a formal process for naming vessels.
• A second proposal would bar the naming or renaming of any Navy ship for a person serving as president or vice president, a general prohibition rather than one aimed only at Trump.
• The third would prohibit the use of federal funds to rename the ship designated CVN-81 from the USS Doris Miller.

"No president should ever christen or rename a warship in his own honor, and no American hero should be erased to make room for one," Booker said in a statement, according to NBC News.

He called the proposed change an attempt to "erase" Miller, adding, "That isn't honoring the Navy. It's vandalizing its history."

A Medal That Could Move His Name

One detail has drawn particular attention.

Two officials told NBC News that one way leaders could justify changing the carrier's name is by awarding Miller the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration.

Aircraft carriers are typically named for presidents. Destroyers tend to honor Medal of Honor recipients, so elevating Miller's award could open the door to moving his name to a different ship class.

Miller is under consideration for the medal, although the White House has not approved it, according to NBC.

Still the Doris Miller, For Now

So far, the administration has not publicly made a case for naming the carrier after Trump.

Booker's bills face long odds. They were referred to a committee controlled by the president's party and have not advanced. The ship, under construction at Newport News, Va., remains the USS Doris Miller.

Any decision on the carrier's name rests with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao.

Secretaries of the Navy have naming authority for Navy vessels, though defense secretaries are often closely involved in decisions about aircraft carriers, which are among the service's most prominent ships.

The bills await action in committee. The carrier, which has not yet launched, is years from entering service.