U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) declared on Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is “unqualified to lead our troops,” reviving a criticism he has leveled at Hegseth since before his confirmation as the Trump administration grapples with mounting scrutiny over living conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that has now spent more than 260 consecutive days at sea supporting the U.S. war effort against Iran.
Gallego, a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq, posted the message on the social media platform X at 10:46 a.m. on August 14, 2026. The full post read:
“Pete Hegseth is unqualified to lead our troops.”
The statement lands amid an intensifying dispute between congressional Democrats and the Pentagon over the condition of the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln, which departed Naval Base San Diego on November 21, 2025, and has since become the subject of reports alleging food shortages, broken plumbing, deteriorating mental health, and threats by crew members to jump overboard.
A Long-Running Dispute
Gallego’s criticism of Hegseth is not new. In January 2025, ahead of the Senate’s confirmation vote, Gallego announced he would oppose Hegseth’s nomination, stating that “the stakes could not be higher for the men and women who serve our country and put their lives on the line to secure our freedoms.” He added that “our servicemembers need an experienced leader, especially at a time when America is facing evolving threats, from conflict in the Middle East, to an increasingly aggressive China,” before concluding that Hegseth “is unqualified to lead the Defense Department.”
That opposition has continued throughout Hegseth’s tenure. In March 2025, following reports that Hegseth shared sensitive military information about a strike in Yemen over the unsecured messaging app Signal, Gallego and fellow Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, also a military veteran, called for Hegseth’s resignation. Kelly said on X at the time that “the Signal incident is what happens when you have the most unqualified Secretary of Defense we’ve ever seen,” adding that “for the safety of our military and our country, Secretary Hegseth needs to resign.”
In November 2025, tensions escalated further after the Pentagon opened an investigation into Kelly over his role in a video, alongside five other Democratic veterans in Congress, urging active-duty service members not to follow unlawful orders. Gallego defended his colleague in a recorded video, stating, “Mark Kelly is a patriot. There’s no reason why they’re going after him. He was doing his duty and just reminding people about their rights as service members.” Addressing Hegseth directly, Gallego said, “You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. And I can’t wait till you no longer are the secretary of Defense.”
The USS Lincoln Controversy
The current flashpoint centers on the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed to the Middle East since January in support of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign against Iran, and has now set a record for consecutive days at sea for a Navy carrier. Family members of sailors aboard the ship have clashed in recent town halls with Navy leadership over conditions that reportedly include moldy showers, sporadic hot water, rationed meals and soap, broken toilets, and 12- to 16-hour shifts without days off.
On Thursday, August 13, Gallego posted directly about the situation on X, writing that he was “seeking an official oversight visit with a bipartisan Senate Delegation to the USS Lincoln to investigate the reported alarming conditions.” He continued: “Unlike Donald Trump, I’ve seen active duty. The way he’s treating our service members as he carries out this illegal war is not just disgusting; it’s dangerous. These sailors are owed a sense of when they will go home.” Gallego added that “the stories of crew members threatening to jump off the ship are a frightening alarm bell as to how bad the situation has become,” and called on “Congress” to “do its duty to provide oversight and hold the administration accountable for these actions.”
That same day, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao raising “serious concerns” about the carrier’s extended deployment. Blumenthal wrote that 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 in route to the ship to be lost in transit for months.”
Hegseth Pushes Back
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Panama on Thursday, Hegseth rejected the characterizations of poor conditions aboard the Lincoln as “completely misrepresented.” He said, “we make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls — it’s incredible.” Hegseth also said he wants “folks rotated as quickly as possible” and that he wants “the best for them.”
The Navy has said it has not observed an increase in suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship, directly disputing elements of the reporting that first surfaced in military-focused outlets Navy Times and Stars and Stripes. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the USS George Washington is en route to the region as a pre-planned replacement for the Lincoln.
Gallego Takes His Case to National Radio
Hours before Friday’s post, Gallego appeared on NPR’s “Morning Edition” to discuss the Lincoln’s conditions directly with host Michel Martin. Gallego said he has been in contact with the spouse of an experienced sailor aboard the carrier who described deteriorating morale and difficult working conditions. Criticizing the administration’s approach to the deployment, Gallego said of Pentagon planners, “they’re just kind of winging it right now.” Turning to the broader question of the Pentagon’s handling of the situation, he added, “that’s not proper leadership.”
Wider Democratic Pressure Campaign
Gallego’s Friday post arrives alongside a broader wave of Democratic criticism of Hegseth’s leadership. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went further than Gallego on Thursday, calling for Hegseth’s outright removal. “When Pete Hegseth was nominated, everyone knew he was completely incompetent. Now our brave sailors are paying the price in a horrific and unfathomable way,” Schumer wrote on X, adding that “Pete Hegseth must be fired immediately.”
The White House has defended the administration’s handling of the deployment. When asked about the reports, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said President Trump and Hegseth remained committed to ensuring the military was “equipped with the resources necessary to counter any threat to the United States.”
Background: The Lincoln’s Extended Mission
The Lincoln’s deployment, which began as a planned seven-month mission, has now stretched past nine months without a port call in over 200 days, according to Blumenthal’s letter. The carrier has served as a central asset supporting U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, 2026, and its mission was further complicated after Iran struck the Navy’s regional logistics hub in Bahrain, disrupting resupply efforts. Blumenthal noted in his letter that the Lincoln “is not an isolated case,” pointing to the USS Gerald R. Ford, which spent 326 days at sea before returning home in May — nearly twice its original scheduled deployment length.
Gallego has said he is among the lawmakers pushing for a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the ship directly, though as of Friday, the Department of the Navy had not confirmed such a visit would be permitted.
What Comes Next
With Gallego’s renewed public assertion that Hegseth is “unqualified to lead our troops,” the dispute between Senate Democrats and the Pentagon over the Lincoln’s deployment shows no sign of resolving quickly. The Navy has yet to specify a timeline for the carrier’s return home, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue to press the Department of Defense for greater transparency about conditions facing the thousands of sailors and Marines still aboard.