Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) is planning to propose a new measure as part of the effort to rename U.S. Military bases.
During a brief discussion with reporters on Tuesday, Kennedy revealed his plan to “rename every military installation in the country after a medal of honor winner.”
The Louisiana lawmaker’s incentive comes amid Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) proposed amendment to rename military bases that have the names of Confederate leaders.
“I think history will show that in the 18th century, in the 19th century, and well into the 20th century, there were many non-Confederate generals, soldiers and others, in both the South and the North who practiced racial discrimination, anti-Semitism and misogyny,” Kennedy said.
Warren’s amendment would require “the removal of Confederate names from military assets, whether it’s a base, a plane or a piece of equipment, establishes a commission to come up with a detailed plan to change the names within three years,” according to CNN.
While Kennedy supports renaming bases, he has criticized Warren’s amendment as he insisted it offers an unfair “picks on the south.”
“I don’t think we ought to just pick on the South,” Kennedy said, adding, “Sen. Warren’s amendment, in my opinion, picks on the South unfairly.”
The removal of Confederate names is one of the line items included on a long list of election-year debates as the fight for justice and equality continues. Many Republicans have been forced to deeply consider their position on multiple issues they normally would oppose.
Like Kennedy, President Donald Trump also disapproves of Warren’s bill.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted, “Seriously failed presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, just introduced an Amendment on the renaming of many of our legendary Military Bases from which we trained to WIN two World Wars. “
He continued, “Hopefully our great Republican Senators won’t fall for this!”
Seriously failed presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren, just introduced an Amendment on the renaming of many of our legendary Military Bases from which we trained to WIN two World Wars. Hopefully our great Republican Senators won’t fall for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2020
Over the last two weeks, Warren’s amendment to rename military bases has received bipartisan support, and military officials have expressed support for the idea of renaming the bases.
Republicans have noted that the amendment’s language in the defense policy bill has a stronger possibility of surviving since 60 opposing votes would be required to have the bill stripped from the floor.