Gillibrand, Schneider Call For Hearings After Navy Discloses 8 Attempted Suicides By Sailors In USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, and Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called for congressional hearings following the Navy’s confirmation that 8 sailors in the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had attempted suicide during the group’s most recent deployment. This admission was made in a September 22 letter Gillibrand received from Acting United States Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, weeks after administration officials and the president had dismissed families’ and soldiers’ concerns about conditions on board the ship. Acting Secretary Cao’s response follows the August 2026 letter that Gillibrand and 14 of her colleagues sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling for transparency after reporting detailed dismal conditions for sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Gillibrand also previously demanded hearings over those reports. “What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘ fake news ’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members ,” said Senator Gillibrand, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect. That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable. The American people need hearings, accountability, and a clear plan to protect our service members and prioritize American families.” “As the Member of Congress representing Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, where every Navy recruit receives basic training, the health and well-being of our men and women in uniform is one of my highest priorities,” said Rep. Schneider. “Every American should be outraged by this Administration’s failure to equip our service members with the tools and support they need to carry out a successful deployment and the blatant lies about the conditions sailors were experiencing on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The new reporting from CNN in response to Senator Gillibrand’s oversight effort is deeply concerning and should alarm everyone. I’m glad to join Senator Gillibrand in calling for open and public hearings to get the answers the American people and our service members deserve.” In the response letter , Acting Secretary Cao wrote, “Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group – this number includes the Lincoln crew and Sailors from the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons.” The letter detailed one particular suicide attempt, in which “one Sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by his shipmates. That Sailor was also provided immediate medical care and subsequently returned to homeport.” The full response can be read HERE . ###