Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego on Sunday criticised the leadership of the Trump administration after fresh reports raised concerns about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, arguing that the extended deployment left sailors dealing with ongoing problems. Speaking to ABC News’s “This Week”, Gallego said he had discussed the situation with a service member’s spouse days earlier and described the issues as part of a wider failure to prepare for the operational tempo and length of the Middle East mission. Extended Middle East DeploymentThe USS Lincoln, a US Navy aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, has been at sea for nearly nine months. It has gone more than 200 days without a port call, a fact Democrats cited as part of their growing concern about morale aboard the ship. Gallego, a former Marine, said the administration did not plan effectively for the conflict’s trajectory. He argued that officials had “did not plan for this war” and had not anticipated how it would escalate or how the US would withdraw from it. His remarks were made as calls for action increased, with Democrats pressing for an investigation into reported conditions and their impact on the crew. Democrats Demand ProbeThe concerns surfaced amid reports of low morale among sailors during the ship’s continued time away from port. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the reports as “completely misrepresented”, according to ABC News. President Donald Trump, when asked about the length of the deployment, said it was “not nearly long enough”. Gallego said the public exchange between the White House and the Pentagon could discourage service members from staying in the military. He warned that when personnel return home and discuss the experience with their families, they may conclude that the leadership they faced was not worth the commitment to rejoin. He said that the criticism of the deployment length and the reported handling of conditions amounted to “a true lack of leadership” from both the defence secretary and the president, as described by Gallego. Mullen Says Crew Morale Has LiftedRetired Admiral Mike Mullen, a former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told “This Week” that long carrier deployments are not unusual and may run beyond the time originally stated. However, he said deployments of the length now experienced by the Lincoln still take a toll on sailors and their families. “These ships, these people, these families need to basically come back,” Mullen said, pointing to lessons learned during the Vietnam era when carriers were deployed for about a year at a time and crews “wear yourself out”. Mullen also said he had spoken with the commander of US Central Command, Brad Cooper, on Saturday evening. He reported that Cooper told him that any poor conditions on the Lincoln had already been addressed and that morale had improved after the crew learned it would be returning home. “One of the positives of Cooper's visit yesterday is he announced to the crew that they're going home … and so the morale is up significantly from where it was just a few days ago,” Mullen said. Carrier Replacement Under WayA US official told ABC News that the USS George Washington departed its station in the Pacific Ocean last week and is expected to replace the Lincoln once the transition is complete. Join the discussion? 17 August 2026
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