The commission, which was created by Congress to provide recommendations to the Defense Department on renaming Confederate markers on US military installations, released its second of three final reports to Congress on Monday.
The report focuses on Confederate markers at both West Point in New York and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The commission said the plaque “falls outside” its remit, as the commission is charged solely with identifying and making recommendations for new names for Confederate markers of military installations.
The Ku Klux Klan was formed after the Civil War by Confederate veterans. The group is still active and is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The commission called on the defense secretary to “address DoD assets that highlight the KKK” and “create a standard requirement for the disposition of such assets,” the report said.
“The marker falls outside the powers of the Commission; however, there are clear ties within the KKK to the Confederacy,” the report states.
The US Military Academy’s Office of Public Affairs said it had received the naming committee’s report and was “reviewing the recommendations” in a statement to CNN.
“We are reviewing the recommendations and will work with the Department of the Army to implement changes once they are approved,” the US Military Academy’s Office of Public Affairs said in a statement. “West Point’s mission is to develop leaders of character who internalize Army values, the ideals of duty, honor, country and the Army ethic. As a values-based institution, we are fully committed to creating a climate where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”
Renaming bases with Confederate nicknames is a years-long process. It first became a hot political issue in the final months of the Trump administration, when then-President Donald Trump criticized the idea, accusing others of wanting to “throw these names out.”
The commission was created in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which Trump vetoed. In the final days of his administration, Congress overrode the first and only veto of his tenure, approving the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Outside of the KKK plaque, the commission identified 12 assets with Confederate name associations to be renamed West Point and three assets at the US Naval Academy.
CNN’s Meron Gerby-Moges contributed to this report.
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