Why renaming CVN-81 would create its own controversy

Why is the proposed renaming of CVN-81 politically contentious?

Doris Miller does not follow the modern presidential carrier convention, but withdrawing an already assigned honour would create worse optics and a political backlash.

Modern American carriers are usually named for presidents or retain a small set of traditional carrier names. Individual naval heroes more often receive destroyer names, so Doris Miller was an unusual original choice for CVN-81. That convention could have supported choosing a different name before the announcement. Once the Navy assigned the honour, removing it became a distinct political act with much worse public optics. A late change would be poor form even though the original decision departed from recent naming practice. Internal administration politics as well as wider domestic politics shape the dispute.