Senator Schumer Demands Dismissal of US War Secretary

Friday, 14 August 2026 1:50 AM

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has demanded the immediate dismissal of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, branding him “completely incompetent” as American sailors endure horrific conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during Washington’s prolonged aggression against Iran.

In a post on the US social media platform X on Thursday, Schumer said,  “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. Pete Hegseth must be fired immediately.”

The remarks come amid mounting reports of severe hardship facing the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which has been continuously at sea for more than 250 days since departing San Diego in November 2025.

Rerouted to the Middle East ahead of US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began in late February, the Lincoln has operated without a meaningful port call for over 200 days while supporting airstrikes, a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and other elements of the illegal US campaign.

Multiple sailors have reportedly attempted to jump overboard in desperation, with at least one entering the water and requiring rescue. Crew members and their families have described shortages of basic supplies, contaminated water, broken toilets and moldy showers, intermittent hot water, disrupted mail deliveries that left care packages lost for months, and severe food rationing, including meals reduced to half a cup of rice and two tortillas, with no fresh produce or milk for months. Long 12- to 16-hour shifts with no days off have compounded the mental health crisis and exhaustion.

Hegseth, speaking to reporters in Panama, dismissed the accounts as “completely misrepresented,” insisting the Pentagon ensures crews receive everything possible and praising sailors for enduring “austere conditions with less port calls.”

Iran has denounced the US and Israel for committing some of the most severe violations of international humanitarian law in modern history through their ongoing military aggression against the Islamic Republic.

The crisis exposes the profound failures of US military overreach. Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal and Ruben Gallego, have written to Hegseth demanding answers on the Navy’s ability to sustain such operations and calling for bipartisan oversight visits to the ship. Families of crew members have publicly clashed with Navy leadership over the endless extensions of a deployment originally expected to end in May.

In a clear sign of strain on the American war machine, the USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East from the Pacific to relieve the Lincoln, according to Navy statements and open-source tracking. The swap underscores how Iran’s resolute resistance and the contested environment created by the conflict have disrupted traditional US supply lines and forced extended, unsustainable deployments.

Washington’s aggression, launched under the banner of “Operation Epic Fury,” has already exacted a heavy toll not only on regional stability and global energy markets but on its own personnel.