15 Democratic Senators Demand 11 Answers on USS Lincoln Conditions as Mental Health Reports Mount
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 17
15 Democratic Senators Demand 11 Answers on USS Lincoln Conditions as Mental Health Reports Mount
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 17
Summary
All 13 Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined by two other senior Democrats, pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for answers on reported mental health crises, hygiene and safety problems aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Their letter seeks responses to 11 questions and asks whether a bipartisan congressional delegation will be allowed to visit the carrier, which has been away from port since December and deployed in the Middle East for nearly nine months.
The demand follows reports of worsening morale, sailors losing significant weight and alleged suicide attempts, after USA TODAY reported in April that Lincoln and USS Tripoli crews lacked care packages and routine fresh food.
Hegseth, Trump spokesperson Stephen Cheung and retired Gen. Jack Keane called the reports false, while Adm. Brad Cooper said the Lincoln had among the lowest mental-health case counts among the Navy's 11 active carriers.
Republicans have mostly stayed quiet, though Rep. Don Bacon backed congressional oversight and said Trump's remark that the deployment was "not long enough" failed to recognize the strain on sailors and families.