WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. Navy to strip the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System from the future USS Doris Miller and revert its fourth Ford-class carrier to steam catapults, the same day the Pentagon confirmed it would dispatch the USS George Washington to relieve a sister carrier that has been at sea more than 260 days supporting the war against Iran.

The twin decisions cap a punishing stretch for a sea service already stretched thin by the Iran campaign. The catapult reversal, aimed at technology in which the Navy has invested more than a decade, would likely cost billions of dollars and force General Atomics to unwind a $1.2 billion contract on the Doris Miller. The relief order concedes mounting reports of crew exhaustion aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, now more than eight months into a deployment that was supposed to end in May.

The catapult order

The directive, described in a memo obtained by The Hill, gives the Pentagon and Navy two months to submit plans for removing EMALS from the Doris Miller, whose keel is due to be laid by the end of the year. The three completed Ford-class carriers — USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy, and USS Enterprise — are exempt. General Atomics said reversing course now would create significant cost, schedule, and integration risks. The Associated Press reported that the same order authorizes the Navy to have some future ships built in foreign shipyards.

A president's grievance

Trump has faulted EMALS since his first term. He said Thursday the Navy had spent "billions of dollars more" on the electric system and that "they're not good." Steam catapults have launched U.S. carrier jets for more than 60 years but require larger boilers and more sailors to operate.

The Lincoln at sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego on Nov. 21 and has now been deployed for more than 260 days, at one point spending more than 200 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a modern record for a U.S. aircraft carrier. Family members told Military Times at least three sailors have attempted to jump overboard. Three U.S. officials told CNN a sailor went over the side earlier this month wearing a life vest and was recovered within an hour. A Navy spokesperson told CNN: "Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship."

Annabelle Loma, whose husband was placed on medical hold after trying to jump, told Military Times her husband thinks "he'll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined." More than 200 family members met with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in San Diego to press for a return date.

Democrats press

Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona are demanding accountability and greater transparency about shipboard conditions, NPR reported. The George Washington's Middle East diversion also opens a temporary gap in U.S. carrier presence in the Pacific, at a moment when the administration has been pivoting forces toward the Persian Gulf.

The secretary's rebuttal

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday on Newsmax that reports about conditions on the Lincoln had been "completely misrepresented." Speaking with the network, Hegseth did not directly address supply shortages, water contamination, or the mental-health claims raised by lawmakers, nor did he say when the vessel would return stateside. The Navy has said it has not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship.

The Pentagon owes Trump its catapult-removal plan by mid-October.