Senate Democrats seek answers from Hegseth on conditions aboard Lincoln

Cao says the Lincoln spent more than 200 days in a combat zone and launched more than 10,000 sorties

U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper toured the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday as the carrier prepared to return home from a nine-month wartime deployment without port visits, U.S. Central Command said. The visit capped a 10-day trip that also included stops in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, the command said.

“The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is a strong team of high-achieving Americans standing tall with immense, justified pride in everything they accomplished,” Cooper said in a statement. “History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.”

The Lincoln participated in U.S. bombing against Iran and has participated in President Trump’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports during the deployment, the Journal reported. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, asked about the carrier’s record, said the Lincoln spent more than 200 days in a combat zone and launched more than 10,000 sorties.

Senate Democrats, in a letter released Saturday, demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, citing “mounting evidence that conditions aboard the carrier have deteriorated to the point that the safety and wellbeing of its crew could be compromised.” The letter came amid reports of fresh-food shortages, personal-supply shortages, plumbing backups, and mental-health problems among the crew. A U.S. official confirmed that a person went overboard from the Lincoln in early August but was quickly rescued.

U.S. officials have acknowledged that months without a port call can weigh on sailors and Marines, though they told the Journal that conditions aboard the Lincoln are not unusual for a wartime deployment. Aircraft carriers typically pull into port to resupply and give the crew a chance to rest — something the Lincoln has been unable to do since the Iran conflict began.

Hegseth has rejected the reports, calling the issue “completely misrepresented.” Trump said the lengthy naval deployment in the Middle East was “not nearly long enough.”

The Navy has said the ship is not experiencing an uptick in mental-health issues. Cao acknowledged that “a small number of mental-health cases were treated with no loss of life.” He also said phone calls by sailors were limited when the operational threat was too high and that meal plans were adjusted when a resupply was unavailable, but no meals were missed.

The Journal, citing U.S. officials, has reported that Cooper has advocated for a more forceful response to continued Iranian attacks than the smaller retaliatory airstrikes, which the Journal reported have done little to deter Tehran from threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacking American forces. According to the Journal, Trump has shifted back to economic pressure, adopting a wait-and-see approach intended to give financial sanctions and the naval blockade more time.

Hegseth said this week that the blockade could be held “indefinitely” and that the U.S. would rotate ships in and out as needed. “We’ll hold it as long as we need to,” he told reporters. A prolonged blockade is likely to put more strain on naval ships and the sailors aboard them operating at a high tempo with little rest, according to some U.S. officials.