Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska has called for congressional oversight of conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln after concerns were raised about the welfare of sailors following the carrier’s nearly nine-month deployment.
Speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on Sunday, Bacon said lawmakers should hear directly from senior Navy officials about the situation aboard the aircraft carrier.
“We should have oversight,” Bacon said.
The USS George Washington is expected to replace the Lincoln in the Middle East, according to a US official who spoke to CBS News on Friday.
The proposed rotation comes amid concerns from some sailors’ families about shortages of supplies and mental health challenges during the lengthy deployment. Media reports have also cited relatives who said they were aware of sailors who had contemplated jumping overboard.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said Friday that the Lincoln’s return was part of a planned rotation and sought to downplay concerns about fatalities.
The Lincoln “will return home soon as part of a planned rotation,” Cao wrote on X. He added that a “small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life.”
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal had earlier asked Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide information about conditions aboard the carrier.
In a letter sent Thursday, Blumenthal said the Lincoln had spent more than 250 days deployed and had not come ashore for more than 200 days, describing the period as a record for consecutive days at sea.
Bacon, a retired US Air Force brigadier general who is due to leave Congress early next year, said either the Navy secretary or the service’s chief should appear before lawmakers to address the concerns.
He also noted that he had encountered similar incidents during his own military career.
Bacon recalled serving aboard an aircraft carrier in 1996, when the United States was enforcing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq.
“We had a couple members jump overboard and commit suicide while I was on that deployment,” Bacon said. “So these incidences, they’re terrible, they’re sad, but it has happened previously and unfortunately, likely in the future as well.”
His comments came after President Donald Trump dismissed concerns that the Lincoln’s deployment had been excessively long.
Asked Friday whether the deployment had gone on for too long, Trump replied: “No. Not nearly long enough.”
