Gallego blames Trump administration for Lincoln conditions: 'True lack of leadership'

Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego reacted to reports of poor conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Sunday, saying they are ongoing and blaming the Trump administration's leadership and the war with Iran for the ship's extended deployment.

"I was just speaking to a spouse just about three days ago and this is the current problems right now," Gallego told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "It really goes to the deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war, did not really understand how this war was going to escalate."

Gallego's comments come as concerns grow over the extended deployment of the Lincoln, a Navy aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East which has been at sea for nearly nine months and gone more than 200 days without a port call.

Democrats are demanding an investigation into the conditions aboard the Lincoln after reports of low morale among sailors during the extended mission. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the reports as "completely misrepresented" and President Donald Trump, when asked about the length of the deployment, said it is "not nearly long enough."

Gallego, a former Marine, said that the comments from Hegseth and Trump might discourage service members from wanting to remain in the military going forward.

"When they get back to home, when they start having that conversation with their wife or with their husband -- is it worth rejoining? They're going to have to think twice because look at how this leadership is treating them, and that again is ... a true lack of leadership from [the] secretary of Defense as well as the president," Gallego said.

Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, a former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Raddatz that extended deployments of aircraft carriers is common, often beyond the stated time frame. But responding to Trump's suggestion that the deployment hasn't gone long enough, Mullen said deployments of this length take a toll on the crew.

"We learned in Vietnam, we deployed for a year at a time there. That's just too long. You wear yourself out," Mullen said. "These ships, these people, these families need to basically come back."

Mullen said that he spoke with U.S. Central Command commander Brad Cooper Saturday evening and was told that any poor conditions aboard the Lincoln have been addressed and that morale improved among the crew after it 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.

The USS George Washington departed from its station in the Pacific Ocean last week and is expected to replace the Lincoln, a U.S. official told ABC News.