Democrats press Pentagon on USS Lincoln crew conditions

Thirteen Democratic senators sent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a letter Monday demanding written answers about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose deployment has stretched past 250 days with more than 200 of those days without a port call.

The letter was led by Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, both Michigan Democrats, and signed by 11 other senators including Jack Reed, Elizabeth Warren and Mark Kelly. It follows reports from sailors’ families describing food and water shortages, plumbing failures and mental health crises severe enough that multiple sailors reportedly attempted to go overboard.

“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,” the senators wrote. “These are deeply troubling reports, and the American people deserve honest answers.”

The Lincoln left San Diego on November 21, 2025, on what was originally planned as a roughly seven-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific. The carrier was redirected to the Middle East in January as tensions with Iran escalated, and it has remained there through the war that began in late February. According to Stars and Stripes reporting cited by Time, the crew has made only two port stops since departing San Diego: a single day at Naval Base Guam in December, when many sailors were not permitted to disembark, and a resupply stop in Oman in July with restricted shore access.

The senators asked Hegseth to disclose the timeline for the Lincoln’s relief and return to homeport, whether the crew was told the deployment could be extended indefinitely, how many suicides or attempted self-harm incidents, including man-overboard attempts, the Navy has recorded, and what mental health, medical and chaplain resources are currently available aboard the ship. They also asked whether the Department of War will authorize a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the Lincoln for firsthand oversight.

The letter noted that Hegseth has publicly described the reports on conditions aboard the Lincoln as “completely misrepresented,” and that President Trump told reporters the ship had not been deployed “nearly long enough” when asked about the concerns of sailors’ families.

“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 senators wrote. The USS Gerald R. Ford was deployed for 281 days earlier this year, a stretch that included a March 12 laundry fire that burned for 30 hours, cost 600 sailors their bunks and sent 200 crew members for treatment of smoke inhalation.

The senators wrote that the USS George Washington is expected to relieve the Lincoln, a move first reported earlier this month and later acknowledged by Trump. They noted that once the Washington departs the Pacific, the U.S. will not have a forward-deployed carrier in that region.

“As the Secretary of Defense, you are accountable to the men and women who serve our nation,” the senators wrote. “It is time for you to demonstrate leadership, rather than peddle excuses.”