Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., accused Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of endangering American service members and renewed her call for his impeachment after Hegseth dismissed reports of harsh conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as “completely misrepresented.” Ansari’s late-night post on X came in direct response to a clip of Hegseth’s remarks, delivered during a visit to Panama and first reported by Newsmax.
Ansari: “They’re Being Forced to Endure Horrific Conditions”
“Absolutely unacceptable. Incompetent Trump officials like Pete Hegseth have repeatedly put American service members in grave danger. And now we know they’re being forced to endure horrific conditions,” Ansari wrote on X Thursday night. “I’ve introduced Articles of Impeachment against Hegseth. I urge my colleagues to join me & hold him accountable.”
Hegseth Says Reports Were “Completely Misrepresented”
Speaking to reporters in Panama, Hegseth rejected accounts of poor conditions on the carrier. “We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” he said. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.” He added that he wants sailors “home as soon as everybody else do” and rotated “as quickly as possible.”
Blumenthal Letter Details Supply, Water and Mental Health Concerns
Hegseth’s comments came two days after Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao demanding answers about conditions aboard the Lincoln. “There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care packages en route to the ship to be lost in transit for months,” Blumenthal wrote. He noted the carrier has been deployed more than 250 days and has gone more than 200 consecutive days without a port call.
Sailor Went Overboard Amid Reports of Mental Health Strain
The letter followed a Military Times report describing accounts from sailors’ families that multiple crew members had attempted to go overboard or been prevented from doing so during the deployment. CNN separately reported that a sailor went overboard earlier this month and was rescued within an hour; officials described the incident as a mental health episode. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., called on the Navy to allow a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the Lincoln to investigate.
Carrier Extended Nearly Three Months Past Original Schedule
The Lincoln deployed in November 2025 for what was originally planned as a six-month Pacific deployment before being redirected to the Middle East amid the war with Iran, according to ABC News. The extension has stretched the deployment past nine months, and Navy officials have not provided a public timeline for when the ship will return home. Acting Navy Secretary Cao told families at a town hall that another carrier will eventually relieve the Lincoln, and a U.S. official told ABC News the USS George Washington, homeported in Japan, could be used for a swap.
Navy Cites “Highly Contested Environment”
A Navy official told CBS News the Lincoln “is operating in a highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions,” offering a partial explanation for the reported shortages. The White House, through spokesperson Olivia Wales, said Trump and Hegseth remain committed to ensuring the military is “equipped with the resources necessary to counter any threat to the United States,” without directly addressing the specific reports of hardship.
Impeachment Articles Center on Iran War Conduct
Ansari’s renewed push points back to H.Res. 1177, articles of impeachment against Hegseth she formally filed on April 15, listing six articles: unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of servicemembers, violations of the law of armed conflict and targeting of civilians, negligence in handling sensitive military information, obstruction of congressional oversight, abuse of power and politicization of the armed forces, and conduct bringing disrepute upon the U.S. armed forces. The resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where it has not advanced.
Resolution Cites Civilian Casualties, Including School Strike
The articles specifically cite a Feb. 28 strike that hit a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, which CBS News reported killed 168 people. A preliminary U.S. assessment found the strike was “likely” carried out by American forces but concluded it was not intentionally targeted and may have been struck in error, according to that reporting. Ansari has said the strike and other civilian harm from the conflict factor directly into her case that Hegseth’s conduct meets the constitutional threshold of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Measure Has a Dozen Cosponsors, Faces Long Odds in GOP-Controlled House
The resolution is cosponsored by more than a dozen House Democrats, including Reps. Sarah McBride, Lauren Underwood, Al Green, Steve Cohen, Jasmine Crockett and John Larson, and is endorsed by advocacy groups including MoveOn, Indivisible and Win Without War. With Republicans holding a narrow House majority, the measure has virtually no path to a floor vote or committee action in the current Congress, according to CBS News, though its Democratic sponsors could revisit the effort if control of the chamber changes after the midterm elections.
Concerns Follow Record-Length Deployment of Another Carrier
Blumenthal’s letter also raised broader questions about the sustainability of current carrier deployment schedules, coming shortly after the USS Gerald R. Ford returned to Norfolk, Virginia, in May following a 326-day deployment, the longest for a U.S. carrier since the Vietnam War, according to Military Times. In his letter, Blumenthal asked the Navy to explain how it intends to maintain a sustained carrier presence in the Middle East over the next one to two years without further straining crews.
Ansari’s Comments Reflect Ongoing Iran War Criticism
Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress, has repeatedly linked Hegseth to what she describes as reckless conduct of the Iran war since introducing the impeachment articles in April, including in response to reports of civilian casualties. Thursday’s post continues that pattern, tying the carrier deployment conditions directly to her broader case for his removal from office.