Twelve members of the US Senate sent a formal letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding written answers about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has spent nearly 250 consecutive days at sea without making land since departing San Diego in November 2025.
Twelve senators demand Hegseth answer questions on USS Abraham Lincoln conditions after nearly 250 days at sea
Twelve members of the US Senate sent a formal letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding written answers about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has spent nearly 250 consecutive days at sea without making land since departing San Diego in November 2025.
US military publications Navy Times and Stars and Stripes reported last week that several service members had attempted to jump overboard, citing concerned family members. The senators' letter described the situation as 'preventable' and compared it to conditions aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford during its over 300-day deployment earlier this year.
The letter stated that Lincoln was redirected to the Middle East as a war with Iran began and has remained there 'with no clear endpoint,' attributing this to what the senators called 'poor planning' by Hegseth and President Donald Trump. The senators also criticized both officials for dismissing the reports earlier in the week.
On the question of relief, the letter addressed reports that the USS George Washington would be deployed to the Middle East to replace Lincoln, stating that while such a move would leave the US without an aircraft carrier in the region, returning Lincoln to port takes precedence. The senators demanded the Department of Defense inform Congress and service members' families of a timeline and plan to bring the carrier home.
Senator Richard Blumenthal had separately sent his own letter the previous week to Hegseth and Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao, citing reports of supply shortages, water contamination, and other issues. Blumenthal set a deadline of August 27 for the Navy to respond and asked the Navy to explain what military objective Lincoln's continued deployment is meant to achieve.
Footage purporting to show bathroom conditions aboard Lincoln was published in a TikTok post on Sunday by a person identifying as a US Navy sailor. The footage shows a ship bathroom described by the poster as 'atrocious.' Separately, text messages attributed to another sailor aboard the vessel described food shortages, stating they had not had anything fresh except meat and that supply shipments sometimes arrived with spoiled produce.
- The source does not state whether Hegseth or the Department of Defense responded to the twelve senators' letter.
- The source does not state whether Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao responded to Blumenthal's earlier letter.
- The source does not state whether the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes reports on overboard attempts were independently confirmed by military officials.
- The source does not state the current total number of crew members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
- The source does not state the specific number of service members who reportedly attempted to jump overboard.
- The source does not confirm the identities or service records of the individuals shown in the TikTok footage or identified in the text messages.
Read the original at The Jerusalem Post