{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-colleagues-demand-answers-from-pentagon-about-safety-and-well-being-of-uss-abraham-lincoln-crew", "King, Colleagues Demand Answers from Pentagon About \u201cSafety and Well-Being\u201d of USS Abraham Lincoln Crew", "2026-08-19", "2026", "2026-08", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined several of his colleagues in demanding answers about deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. In a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, King and his colleagues raised concerns about the Department of Defense\u2019s failure to provide a clear timeline for the crew\u2019s return and pressed the Department for information about the health, safety and well-being of the sailors and Marines aboard the ship. The letter follows reports that the aircraft carrier\u2019s crew has endured food and water shortages, broken plumbing, and serious mental health crises during its record-setting deployment.\n\n\u201cWe write regarding the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and mounting evidence that conditions aboard the carrier have deteriorated to the point that the safety and wellbeing of its crew could be compromised,\u201d the Senators began. \u201cThese are deeply troubling reports, and the American people deserve honest answers. The USS Lincoln departed San Diego on November 21, 2025. The ship has now been deployed for more than 250 days, including over 200 consecutive days without a port call, setting a modern-day record for continuous time at sea for a U.S. aircraft carrier.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur sailors and Marines signed up to serve and to be treated with respect. They did not sign up to be kept at sea indefinitely with no announced return date and, by multiple accounts, without reliable food, hot water, or working plumbing. That is not how we treat the men and women we ask to carry out this mission,\u201d the Senators continued.\n\n\u201cAs the Secretary of Defense, you are accountable to the men and women who serve our nation. It is time for you to demonstrate leadership, rather than peddle excuses. The servicemembers we send into harm\u2019s way deserve nothing less,\u201d the Senators concluded.\n\nKing is joined on the letter by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Duckworth(D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Chris Coons (D-DE).\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found here and below.\n\n+++\n\nDear Secretary Hegseth,\n\nWe write regarding the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and mounting evidence that conditions aboard the carrier have deteriorated to the point that the safety and wellbeing of its crew could be compromised. These are deeply troubling reports, and the American people deserve honest answers.\n\nThe USS Lincoln departed San Diego on November 21, 2025. The ship has now been deployed for more than 250 days, including over 200 consecutive days without a port call, setting a modern-day record for continuous time at sea for a U.S. aircraft carrier. Family members of the sailors and Marines serving aboard have received urgent messages describing conditions that should alarm you, and everyone serving in a position of leadership at the Pentagon, to include concerns about exhaustion, food and water shortages, and mental health crises serious enough that multiple sailors reportedly attempted to go overboard.\n\nIn response to these reports, you publicly stated that the conditions aboard the carrier have been \u201ccompletely misrepresented.\u201d Even more galling, when asked by reporters about the conditions on the Lincoln, President Trump dismissed the concerns of the families and stated that the Lincoln had not been deployed \u201cnearly long enough.\u201d\n\nOur sailors and Marines signed up to serve and to be treated with respect. They did not sign up to be kept at sea indefinitely with no announced return date and, by multiple accounts, without reliable food, hot water, or working plumbing. That is not how we treat the men and women we ask to carry out this mission.\n\nThis situation was preventable, and the conditions aboard the Lincoln are nearly identical to the issues faced by the USS Ford when it conducted an extended deployment that ended 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. This is a symptom of poor planning by both you and the President and exacerbated by the deeply unsound decision to start a war with Iran. Open-ended deployments driven by an open-ended war have real consequences for our servicemembers, and we are seeing those consequences now.\n\nRecent press reports indicate that the USS George Washington will be deployed to the Middle East to relieve the USS AbrahamLincoln. While that is welcome news, the Department\u2019s mismanagement of carrier deployments also means that the U.S. will not have an aircraft carrier in the Pacific for the foreseeable future. However, ensuring the USS Lincoln returns to port takes precedence, and it is incumbent on the Department to inform Congress, and the families, on the plan and timeline to get the crew home. Denial and defensiveness are not acceptable responses. Congress and these families need accountability.\n\nGiven the seriousness of these reports, we request written answers to the following:\n\nWhat is the current timeline for the USS Lincoln\u2019s relief and return to homeport, and what specific operational requirements are driving continued extensions of this deployment?\n\nWas the crew informed that the deployment could be extended indefinitely? Have any members of the crew been changed out since the beginning of this deployment, and if so, how many?\n\nHas there been any degradation in the operational capability of the USS Lincoln or her airwing?\n\nWhat mental health resources are being provided to the crew?\n\nHave there been any suicides aboard the ship during this deployment? How many instances of detected suicidal ideation or attempted self-harm, including attempts to go overboard, has the Department recorded?\n\nWhat other medical resources are available aboard the ship, and are resources sufficient to meet the crew\u2019s needs given the length of this deployment?\n\nWhat chaplain resources are available to the crew, and have they been adequate to the scale of need aboard the ship?\n\nWhat is the current state of good order and discipline aboard the USS Lincoln?\n\nWhat is the hygiene and healthy food situation on board, including the status of reported plumbing failures, water contamination, and food shortages?\n\nWhat is the extent of illness or injury aboard the ship, including full details of the reported man-overboard incident and any other similar incidents?\n\nWhat is the state of the families of the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Lincoln? What resources are being provided to them, and are they being kept informed on a regular basis about the status of the deployment and their loved ones\u2019 wellbeing?\n\nWill the Department authorize a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the Lincoln to conduct firsthand oversight of conditions aboard the ship?\n\nAs the Secretary of Defense, you are accountable to the men and women who serve our nation. It is time for you to demonstrate leadership, rather than peddle excuses. The servicemembers we send into harm\u2019s way deserve nothing less.\n\nSincerely,\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-20T05:28:41Z", "2026-08-20T05:29:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-colleagues-demand-answers-from-pentagon-about-safety-and-well-being-of-uss-abraham-lincoln-crew"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9005810134112835, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}