Three sources told CNN that the US Navy is working to change the name of an aircraft carrier under construction. It was to be named after a black sailor praised for his heroic actions during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.
During President Donald Trump's first term, the Navy announced that the Ford-class aircraft carrier would be named "Doris Miller" in honor of a sailor who helped defend American forces against Japanese attack.
It is not clear what new name the Navy is seeking to give to the aircraft carrier, although two sources indicated that there are internal talks about naming it after Trump.
It would be an unprecedented step for an aircraft carrier to bear the name of a sitting president.
According to one source, the Navy is instead considering naming another warship after Miller, and is also recommending awarding him the Medal of Honor, the highest award for military valor; Note that final approval to award the medal rests with Congress and requires Trump’s approval.
Thomas Bledsoe, Miller's nephew, said that Miller's family was not aware of the change or of the renewed efforts to award his relative the Medal of Honor. Bledsoe added that the family has been seeking for years to obtain this medal for him, describing the Navy's move to recommend awarding him the honor as "very positive."
The Navy referred CNN's inquiries to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and a department spokesperson said they had nothing to announce at this time.
The sources indicated that efforts to change the name of "Doris Miller" began earlier this year. Two sources also said that the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hong Chao, and his office are studying updating the official directives on the mechanism for naming ships and determining the personalities whose names ships can bear, including presidents.
Amid talks about the ship's name, the Navy actually stopped referring to it internally as the Doris Miller, instead using its hull number CVN-81, according to one source.
A recent White House executive order on shipbuilding referred to the ship only as "CVN-81" and tasked the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy with submitting a plan to replace the aircraft's electromagnetic take-off system with steam- and hydraulic-powered systems.
The Navy is facing a lack of time to decide on the name of the aircraft carrier, as it is expected that the ceremony for laying the main keel of the ship will be held at the end of this year. It is a public ceremony that represents an important step in the process of building the ship.
According to what was first reported by USNI News, the ship is not expected to be delivered before 2034 due to restrictions facing the manufacturer.
Former Acting Secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly, announced the name of the new aircraft carrier in memory of Miller in January 2020, during a ceremony held at Pearl Harbor on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Modly - who was nominated by Trump and held leadership positions in the Navy between 2017 and 2020 - said in his speech during the ceremony, according to a statement issued by the Navy: “Dory Miller was the son of a sharecropper. He was an American sailor - as defined by the uniform he wore; the same uniform that all sailors wore and continue to wear, regardless of race, ethnic background, or political affiliation.”
Miller, who is from Waco, Texas, joined the US Navy in 1939, according to the National Museum of the Pacific War. On the day of the Japanese attack, Miller, then a messenger third class, was gathering clothes to be washed when bombs began falling on the American fleet.
It should be noted that the position of "food service assistant" was one of the few jobs available to black men in the Navy, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Miller took the initiative to help his injured commander, and then - despite not having received any training in this system - operated an anti-aircraft gun and opened fire on the Japanese planes.
“Despite having no training, he fired effectively and only stopped shooting when his ammunition ran out and the ship began to sink,” the Department of Veterans Affairs website states. Even in those moments, he continued to help his fellow sailors reach safety until he was finally able to reach shore.”
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is best known for his portrayal of Miller in the 2001 film "Pearl Harbor."
In 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz awarded Miller the Navy Cross, and Miller was then sent on a war bond tour with a number of white military personnel, making him "the first African American permitted to participate in a speaking tour," according to Department of Veterans Affairs data. About a year later, Miller was killed during the Battle of Makin when his ship was hit by a torpedo fired by a Japanese submarine.
The Navy formed a renaming committee in 2025, headed by former Navy Secretary John Phelan, to review the mechanisms for naming ships and other military assets.
Phelan believes that naming aircraft carriers, specifically, should be limited to the names of presidents, naval admirals, and prominent and influential naval battles.
A source familiar with Phelan's ideas said that during his tenure as Secretary of the Navy, he requested a study on this issue by the Naval History and Heritage Command, but he was removed from his post before the review was completed, adding that Phelan did not express an official opinion on naming the ship specifically after Doris Miller.
The Navy Commission's decision came amid broader efforts within the Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to remove names that were selected for purposes related to what the administration sees as promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
For example, Hegseth immediately sought to change the names of US Army bases that bore the names of Confederate officers, by searching for other military personnel with the same family surnames as those Confederate officers.
In 2025, he took the rare step of ordering the Navy Secretary to change the name of the ship Harvey Milk, which had been named after the Navy veteran and gay rights activist.
Changing the ship's name after entering service is extremely unusual.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said at the time of changing the name of the Harvey Milk ship that Hegseth was committed to choosing names that "reflect the priorities of the Commander-in-Chief, our nation's history, and the spirit of the warrior."
The selection of the Doris Miller name represented the first time that an aircraft carrier had honored a rank-and-file sailor (other than officers), and it was also the first aircraft carrier to bear the name of an African American.
In response to a question about his decision to name the carrier after Miller, Modly told CNN that the idea came at the recommendation of a group of retired black admirals, and that he believes that “one of our most powerful warships should be named after a sailor like Miller, to further highlight what makes our Navy unique and great.”
He added, "Ultimately, these names are intended to be a symbol and a unifying source for the Navy and the nation they serve. When ships bear the names of people like Doris Miller, they raise public awareness of the heroism, patriotism, and sacrifices of all American sailors, not just their commanders."
Many currently operational US aircraft carriers bear the names of former US presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and George Washington, although none of these ships first sailed during the terms of the presidents they were named after.
However, not all aircraft carriers are named after presidents. For example, the US aircraft carrier "Nimitz" was named after the admiral who commanded the US Pacific Fleet during World War II, while the US aircraft carrier "Carl Vinson" was named after a member of Congress who chaired the Committee on Naval Affairs and Armed Services in the House of Representatives.
