The acting Navy secretary on Wednesday denied that the White House cut plans to build more new ships from the service’s budget plan released Tuesday.
Acting Secretary Sean Stackley, a holdover from the Obama administration, testified Wednesday before a Senate appropriations subcommittee to justify President Trump’s first full-year defense budget.
He faced questions from Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, about the Navy’s plans for eight new ships. She said the Navy has determined it needs a much larger fleet built faster than the last administration projected and that Trump has also now called for increasing the fleet from 275 to 350.
“As I look at this budget, it appears to continue President Obama’s 30-year shipbuilding plan and does not seem to reflect the latest assessment by the Navy, which has also been endorsed by the president,” Collins said.
She questioned whether the decision involved the White House Office of Management and Budget.
“Did your budget request get cut by OMB?” Collins asked.
“No, ma’am,” Stackley replied.
The Navy is focusing on maintaining and improving the availability of its current fleet, Stackley said.
“The best way to increase whether it’s your ship count or your aircraft count on deployment in theater where you need it is to raise the readiness of the in-service fleet and that’s the priority in this budget,” he said.
The budget calls for purchasing two Virginia-class submarines, one littoral combat ship, one Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, two Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers, one underway replenishment oiler and one salvage vessel. The Navy and other services have said the military buildup promised by Trump could come in 2019 after the Defense Department completes a strategy review. The president has called for the larger fleet as well as a dramatic increase in the size of the Army and more Air Force tactical aircraft.
