Democratic lawmakers are accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of “lying” about conditions on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier on extended deployment near Iran.
On Thursday, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton criticized Hegseth’s comments on the situation, amid reports that several service members tried to jump overboard due to worsening conditions on the ship, including shortages of basic supplies, moldy showers, and long stretches without hot water. Service members’ mental health is also a concern, their family members have said.
Hegseth on Thursday claimed such reports “completely misrepresented” what’s going on.
“We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain, has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth, 46, told reporters in Panama. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”
“As someone who’s not been on a ship like that, but been on long deployments, I feel it,” added Hegseth, who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan while in the Army. “I want them home as soon as everybody else, too. I want folks rotated as quickly as possible. I want the best for them. My commanders know that, our service secretaries know that, the president expects that, and so to that crew and all crews: We’re going to do everything we can for you, and we are so grateful for that crew and others.”
Gallego, an Iraq War Marine corporal, responded to Hegseth in a post on X.
“I am in communication with a spouse who is forwarding me her husband’s text messages. Stop lying and fix the problem,” Gallego, 46, wrote.
A dozen relatives of service members described to MS NOW last week what they had heard about conditions on the ship.
Bonnie York, whose stepson is aboard, said she had been told a doctor or therapist on the ship had warned that the crew needed to reach port before people started “losing their minds.” Brett Snow, a Navy veteran whose son is on the ship, added that the situation is “ripe for accidents.”
In addition to low food supplies and unsanitary showers, family members have described out-of-service toilets and laundry rooms inaccessible for weeks.
Stars and Stripes and the Navy Times have also spoken with relatives and sailors themselves about the ordeal.
Stars and Stripes said interviews—along with “dozens of public social media comments and posts” by crew—revealed sailors “struggling with exhaustion and declining morale, including reports of suicidal thoughts and at least one instance where a crew member was prevented from jumping overboard.”
According to the Navy Times, the wife of a service member said her husband tried to jump overboard.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, which is carrying 5,000 sailors and Marines who had expected to be off the ship by May, is being relieved by the USS George Washington, CNN reported.
When reached for comment, the Pentagon referred the Daily Beast to Hegseth’s comments to reporters—the same ones Gallego criticized.
Later Thursday night, U.S. Central Command issued a statement that did not directly address several specific claims about conditions on board, including those concerning food and toilets. It also admitted that one sailor had gone overboard, using the word “fell.”
“Over the past 48 hours, multiple media outlets have reported several false claims related to USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) deployment to the Middle East. One report alleged seven Sailors died in a brawl aboard the aircraft carrier and others have recently suggested a spike in suicidal ideations. These reports are FALSE,” it said.
“The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended,” it went on to say. “No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died, and the one Sailor who fell overboard Aug. 3 was quickly and safely recovered. The rampant misreporting on Abraham Lincoln’s historic deployment is a disservice to our men and women in uniform and their loved ones.”
Meanwhile, Gallego’s sentiments were echoed on CNN by Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who fought in the Iraq War.
“There’s nothing out of Hegseth’s mouth that can be considered credible,” Moulton said. “Remember, this is the guy who lied about his own misuse of classified information. And, if this wasn‘t a problem, they wouldn‘t be rushing to replace the ship. So clearly he‘s lying about the conditions.”
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told reporters in a statement, “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are committed to ensuring that the brave American patriots serving our country in uniform are equipped with the resources necessary to counter any threat to the United States.”
