LBJ’s daughters christen ‘most ironic ship’ criticized as wasteful spending

By Steven Nelson

Published April 27, 2019 7:15pm ET

LBJ’s daughters christen ‘most ironic ship’ criticized as wasteful spending — Luci Baines Johnson, left, and her sister, Lynda Johnson Robb, smash champagne bottles to christen the Lyndon B. Johnson, the third Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer, built at Bath Iron Works, Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Bath, Maine. Johnson and Robb and the daughters of the former president. | (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Two daughters of former President Lyndon B. Johnson christened a Navy destroyer Saturday in Maine, ending a six-year construction project criticized for excessive cost and dubious naming choice.

The approximately $8 billion USS Lyndon B. Johnson was launched in Bath, Maine, by Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, who smashed champagne bottles on the 610-foot ship’s bow.