Rep. Don Bacon urges congressional oversight of USS Abraham Lincoln conditions
Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon called for hearings on the USS Abraham Lincoln after reports of supply shortages and mental-health concerns, while the carrier prepares to be replaced by the USS George Washington.
Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon told "Face the Nation" that Congress should exercise oversight of the USS Abraham Lincoln after families raised concerns about supply shortages and sailors' mental health during the carrier's nearly nine-month deployment. He urged that the secretary of the Navy or the service chief appear before lawmakers to provide a full account.
The Navy announced that the USS George Washington will sail to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln, which is slated to return home as part of a scheduled rotation. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said a small number of mental-health cases were treated without any loss of life.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, highlighted that the Lincoln had been at sea for more than 250 days, setting a record for consecutive days without shore leave. Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, recalled his own experience on an aircraft carrier in 1996, noting that incidents of sailors jumping overboard and suicide had occurred in the past.
President Donald Trump, when asked about the length of the deployment, said it was "not nearly long enough," rejecting the concerns voiced by families.