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

Senators: “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.” Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Navy combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), alongside all SASC Democrats and the Democratic leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Defense, demanded answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth 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 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.” “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 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. “Denial and defensiveness are not acceptable responses. Congress and these families need accountability,” the senators continued. “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,” they concluded. Alongside Kelly, the letter was signed by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Chris Coons (D-DE). Click here to read the full text of the letter. The Veterans Crisis Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be reached by calling 988, press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Find more information about the Lifeline at suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call directly by dialing 988. You can also text TALK to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.