On 3 January 2007, former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced that the aircraft carrier would be named after Ford during a eulogy for President Ford at Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rumsfeld indicated that he had personally told Ford of the honor during a visit to his home in Rancho Mirage a few weeks before Ford's death.
In 2007, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld honored President Gerald Ford by naming an aircraft carrier after him at a memorial service in Michigan. Rumsfeld had personally told Ford about the honor prior to his passing.