The Navy’s top civilian leader came under fire Thursday from Republicans who argued the service isn’t doing enough to fix shipbuilding programs plagued by delays, with one senator even suggesting he should be fired over it.
Republicans at a Senate Armed Services Committee accused Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro of prioritizing climate change over Navy shipbuilding. Del Toro flatly rejected the criticism, arguing that he’s made progress to rein in over-budget and past-schedule ship programs.
The fireworks began with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who criticized Navy plans that keep the fleet under 300 warships through the end of the decade while China far outpaces the U.S. in shipbuilding. Sullivan argued Del Toro is more focused on climate change and asked the Navy leader if he should resign or be fired over ship delays.
“I feel compelled to ask: If a Marine platoon commander gets relieved because one of his Marines loses a rifle and a Navy captain gets relieved because his crew hits another ship while the captain is asleep, should the secretary of the Navy be relieved or resign for failing on his No. 1 mission — shipbuilding — particularly when he is spending so much time on issues that are not even part of his [legal] responsibilities?” Sullivan asked.
