Twelve US officials have sent a formal letter to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, demanding "honest answers" to reports of deteriorating conditions and mental health crises onboard the ship.
Lincoln has spent nearly 250 consecutive days at sea without making land since its departure from San Diego in November 2025. US military newspapers Navy Times and Stars and Stripes last week reported that several service members had attempted to jump overboard, citing concerned family members.
Criticizing Hegseth and US President Donald Trump for dismissing the reports earlier this week, the senators argued in their letter that the situation on Lincoln was "preventable" and similar to issues USS Gerald R. Ford faced during its over 300-day deployment 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," stated the letter. "This is a symptom of poor planning by both you [Hegseth] and the President and exacerbated by the deeply unsound decision to start a war with Iran."
Regarding reports that the USS George Washington would be deployed to the Middle East to relieve Lincoln, the letter stated that while the move would leave the US without an aircraft carrier, returning the Lincoln to port takes precedence.
Senators demand Hegseth take accountability
It further demanded that the US Department of Defense inform Congress and the families of Lincoln's service members of the timeline and plan to bring the carrier home.
"Denial and defensiveness are not acceptable responses. Congress and these families need accountability," the letter said.
The senators presented Hegseth with a list of 12 questions about Lincoln's current status, living conditions, morale, and the health of its crew, as well as the well-being of the families of the service members onboard, and demanded written answers.
"As the Secretary of Defense, you [Hegseth] are accountable to the men and women who serve our nation. It is time for you to demonstrate leadership, rather than peddle excuses," the letter concluded. "The service members we send into harm's way deserve nothing less."
The letter was signed by US Committee on Armed Services Ranking Member and Senator Jack Reed (Rhode Island), Senator Gary C. Peters (Michigan), Senator Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Senator Mark Kelly (Arizona), Senator Tim Kaine (Virginia), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Patty Murray, Senator Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Senator Mazie K. Hirono (Hawaii), Senator Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Senator Elissa Slotkin (Michigan), Senator Kirstin Gillibrand (New York), and Senator Angus S. King Jr (Maine).
Last week, Blumenthal sent his own letter to Hegseth and Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao about Lincoln.
Citing reports of supply shortages, water contamination, and several other issues that have arisen over the past months, Blumenthal granted the US Navy until August 27 to provide answers.
In his questions to the naval force, Blumenthal requested details on Lincoln’s extended deployment, how the Navy assesses the mental health and morale of its soldiers, and how it has worked to solve the quality-of-life problems reported on board the carrier.
Further, Blumenthal asked the Navy to explain what military objective Lincoln’s ongoing deployment is meant to achieve and how the US Defense Department “assess[es] whether the carrier’s continued presence is necessary to accomplish that objective.”
Footage allegedly shows poor conditions aboard USS Lincoln
Footage purporting to show the poor conditions aboard Lincoln was published in a TikTok post by a US Navy sailor on Sunday.
The footage, allegedly recorded onboard the ship, shows one of the carrier's bathrooms, with the sailor describing the conditions as "atrocious."
"Y'all expect me to take a doo-doo in this, y'all? Nah," the alleged sailor can be heard saying in the footage while showing the toilets. "Come on now, right? Join the navy, all right? Join the navy," he said sarcastically.
"This is what we go through on the carrier," he said. "This ain't even the worst part."
In addition, text messages attributed to another sailor aboard the Lincoln describe the alleged food shortages onboard, saying that they "haven't had anything fresh but meat cause it's freezed."
"The supply ship that comes here can't bring fruits and stuff cause it can't stay fresh enough with the time it gets them to get here," the alleged sailor wrote. "Sometimes it gets here rotten."
"Even people that have been deployed a hundred times claim this one to be the worst," he continued. "The Navy does not care."
Goldie Katz contributed to this report.