U.S. Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer and President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro will travel to Harrisburg on Thursday to announce the assignment of a new naval ship with a name of “significant importance to the region,” according to White House officials.
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While the White House is withholding the name to be assigned to the ship, an event notice from Democratic state Capitol staffer, Bob Caton, indicates it will be named the USS Harrisburg. The “USS" prefix, meaning United States Ship, is assigned to identify a commissioned ship of the Navy.
Joining the federal officials will be Pennsylvania’s House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, at a 9 a.m. news conference in the Capitol Rotunda.
“I’m looking forward to my trip to Harrisburg tomorrow with Pennsylvania House Speaker Turzai and Secretary of the Navy Spencer,” said Navarro, whose official title is assistant to the president and director of trade and manufacturing policy. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here in Pennsylvania to shine a bright light on how President Trump is rebuilding America’s military, strengthening our manufacturing and defense industrial base, and creating millions of jobs. Pennsylvania has always been a critical hub of American manufacturing and has helped this country stay free.”
Assigning a name to Navy ship is a responsibility awarded to the Secretary of the Navy 200 years ago, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Five years ago, another new Navy ship was commissioned that had a name honoring another area of significant importance not just to the region but the nation as a whole. The new Navy ship USS Somerset, named in honor of Flight 93 and its victims from 9-11, had its commissioning ceremony at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia on March 1, 2014.
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
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