When a future generation of Navy sailors project American airpower across the high seas, they’ll do it on aircraft carriers named for Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The White House announced the names of the two future Gerald R. Ford-class ships Monday.
“The future USS William J. Clinton (CVN 82) and the future USS George W. Bush (CVN 83) will begin construction in the years ahead,” the White House announced in a statement. “When complete, they will join the most capable, flexible, and professional Navy that has ever put to sea. They will be crewed by sailors who hail from every corner of the United States, and who will sail these ships into harm’s way, defending our interests overseas and our safety here at home.”
The USS George W. Bush is on the Navy’s books to begin construction between 2028 and 2030. The most recent Ford-class carrier cost about $14 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The two names continue the convention for namesakes of USS Ford-class carriers, the Navy’s current largest and newest aircraft carriers. Of the six Ford-class ships under construction or announced, four are now named for former Presidents.
The Navy’s current aircraft carrier force consists of 11 nuclear carriers, including 10 Nimitz-class ships that entered service between 1975 and 2009, and the Gerald R. Ford, which was commissioned on July 22, 2017. Seven Nimitz-class ships are named for former presidents: the USS George Washington, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Harry S. Truman, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Ronald Reagan and the USS George H.W. Bush.
Though slightly larger, Ford-class carriers are similar to Nimitz carriers, with air wings that can be as large as 90 aircraft. The United States’ carrier fleet is by far the largest in the world, and each U.S. ship dwarfs nearly every variety of carrier produced elsewhere. However, the Chinese navy launched the Fujian in 2022, a ship roughly as large as a Ford-class carrier.
Ships named for presidents
The next Ford-class carrier — the USS John F. Kennedy — is scheduled for delivery in July, according to the Navy’s budget for 2025. Two additional Ford carriers are under construction with non-Presidential names: the USS Enterprise — a name with deep roots in U.S. Naval history — and the USS Doris Miller. Miller is among the Navy’s most famous war heroes, a Black sailor awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
With the addition of Clinton and Bush, every President to serve between Herbert Hoover and Barack Obama now has a Navy ship named for them, except for Richard Nixon. All but two are aircraft carriers.
The USS Jimmy Carter is a Seawolf-class submarine launched in 2005, picked to honor Carter’s service as submariner in the Navy. The USS Lyndon B. Johnson is a Zumwalt-class destroyer.
“May God protect all who sail aboard USS William J. Clinton, USS George W. Bush and every other ship in our fleet. And may God continue to bless our troops,” the White House said.
Clinton, a Democrat, was President from 1993 to 2001, when he was replaced by George W. Bush, a Republican, who served until 2009.
He left office as Barack Obama was elected to the White House.
The White House did not comment on whether Obama and, in turn, Donald Trump could expect ships named for them.
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