Hegseth Denies Carrier Crisis; Blumenthal Sets Deadline

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln have been "completely misrepresented."

He spoke to reporters in Panama City, Panama, according to Reuters, days after Stars and Stripes and Navy Times reported that multiple crew members had attempted to jump from the ship during a grueling deployment.

"Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain, has everything," Hegseth said, according to RSBNetwork.

The Lincoln, which carries roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines, is in the ninth month of a deployment tied to the U.S. conflict with Iran.

What Families Say

Relatives of crew members described basic needs going unmet. Sailors told family that one meal consisted of a half-cup of rice and two tortillas.

One family member said the ship's medical staff warned that the crew needed a port call soon or would "start losing their minds."

The Washington Examiner reported the account in part from text messages sent by a sailor's family member.