Senate Defense Democrats Demand Accountability from Hegseth After Reports of Crisis Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln

WASHINGTON, DC-Today, all thirteen members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) minority, as well as the Democratic leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Defense, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding answers about deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, following reports that the aircraft carrier's crew has endured food and water shortages, broken plumbing, and mental health crises severe enough that multiple sailors reportedly attempted to go overboard during its record-setting deployment. The Lincoln has been at sea for more than 250 days, including over 200 consecutive days without a port call, the longest continuous deployment at sea for a U.S. aircraft carrier in the modern era.

The letter was signed by the following SASC members: Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senator Angus King (I-ME), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, also joined.

The senators pressed Secretary Hegseth on his Department's failure to provide a clear timeline for the crew's return and condemned his public dismissal of the reports as "completely misrepresented," as well as President Trump's remarks suggesting the Lincoln had not been deployed "nearly long enough." The Senators demanded detailed answers on mental health and medical resources aboard the ship, the state of good order and discipline, hygiene and food conditions, the full extent of the reported man-overboard incident, and support being provided to military families, along with a formal request for a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the ship.

The full text of the letter is attached and copied below.

Dear Secretary Hegseth,

We write regarding the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and mounting evidence that conditions aboard the carrier have deteriorated to the point that the safety and wellbeing of its crew could be compromised. These are deeply troubling reports, and the American people deserve honest answers.

The USS Lincoln departed San Diego on November 21, 2025. The ship has now been deployed for more than 250 days, including over 200 consecutive days without a port call, setting a modern-day record for continuous time at sea for a U.S. aircraft carrier. Family members of the sailors and Marines serving aboard have received urgent messages describing conditions that should alarm you, and everyone serving in a position of leadership at the Pentagon, to include concerns about exhaustion, food and water shortages, and mental health crises serious enough that multiple sailors reportedly attempted to go overboard.

In response to these reports, you publicly stated that the conditions aboard the carrier have been "completely misrepresented." Even more galling, when asked by reporters about the conditions on the Lincoln, President Trump dismissed the concerns of the families and stated that the Lincoln had not been deployed "nearly long enough."

Our sailors and Marines signed up to serve and to be treated with respect. They did not sign up to be kept at sea indefinitely with no announced return date and, by multiple accounts, without reliable food, hot water, or working plumbing. That is not how we treat the men and women we ask to carry out this mission.

This situation was preventable, and the conditions aboard the Lincoln are nearly identical to the issues faced by the USS Ford when it conducted an extended deployment that ended earlier this year. The USS Lincoln was redirected to the Middle East as the war with Iran began and has remained there as that war has dragged on with no clear endpoint. This is a symptom of poor planning by both you and the President and exacerbated by the deeply unsound decision to start a war with Iran. Open-ended deployments driven by an open-ended war have real consequences for our servicemembers, and we are seeing those consequences now.

Recent press reports indicate that the USS George Washington will be deployed to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln. While that is welcome news, the Department's mismanagement of carrier deployments also means that the U.S. will not have an aircraft carrier in the Pacific for the foreseeable future. However, ensuring the USS Lincoln returns to port takes precedence, and it is incumbent on the Department to inform Congress, and the families, on the plan and timeline to get the crew home. Denial and defensiveness are not acceptable responses. Congress and these families need accountability.

Given the seriousness of these reports, we request written answers to the following:

• What is the current timeline for the USS Lincoln's relief and return to homeport, and what specific operational requirements are driving continued extensions of this deployment?
• Was the crew informed that the deployment could be extended indefinitely? Have any members of the crew been changed out since the beginning of this deployment, and if so, how many?
• Has there been any degradation in the operational capability of the USS Lincoln or her airwing?
• What mental health resources are being provided to the crew?
• Have there been any suicides aboard the ship during this deployment? How many instances of detected suicidal ideation or attempted self-harm, including attempts to go overboard, has the Department recorded?
• What other medical resources are available aboard the ship, and are resources sufficient to meet the crew's needs given the length of this deployment?
• What chaplain resources are available to the crew, and have they been adequate to the scale of need aboard the ship?
• What is the current state of good order and discipline aboard the USS Lincoln?
• What is the hygiene and healthy food situation on board, including the status of reported plumbing failures, water contamination, and food shortages?
• What is the extent of illness or injury aboard the ship, including full details of the reported man-overboard incident and any other similar incidents?
• What is the state of the families of the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Lincoln? What resources are being provided to them, and are they being kept informed on a regular basis about the status of the deployment and their loved ones' wellbeing?
• Will the Department authorize a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the Lincoln to conduct firsthand oversight of conditions aboard the ship?

As the Secretary of Defense, you are accountable to the men and women who serve our nation. It is time for you to demonstrate leadership, rather than peddle excuses. The servicemembers we send into harm's way deserve nothing less.

Sincerely,

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Tweet