Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is pressing the Navy for answers on the plot to conceal the destroyer USS John McCain from President Trump during his trip to Japan.
“It is appalling to hear that USS JOHN S. MCCAIN was ordered to slink into the shadows to avoid upsetting a fragile president whose lack of service to our nation is highlighted when compared with the McCain family’s,” Gallego said in a letter to Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations.
John McCain was an American hero. It’s ridiculous to hide a ship that honors him because it might hurt the president’s feelings. I expect the Navy to give me and all Arizonans every detail on how this happened and how it won’t happen again. pic.twitter.com/bISIwVFiBN
— Ruben Gallego (@RepRubenGallego) May 30, 2019
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday the White House instructed the Navy to move the USS John McCain “out of sight” before Trump visited Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. Emails obtained by the Journal indicated the White House Military Office asked the Navy to conceal the destroyer from Trump.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. In March, he said he was “never a fan of John McCain and I never will be.” The destroyer was commissioned in 1994 and was named in honor of McCain’s father and grandfather, both of whom were Navy admirals. The late senators name was added in 2018.
[Opinion: Sorry, but that USS McCain story isn’t fake news]
Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, praised McCain and his family, adding he is “furious that the Navy would allow the service of the McCains to be diminished in this way.”
“Please explain how this order was received and executed, including the originating office and involved Joint Staff, DOD, or Navy components; whether funds were expended in carrying it out; and how you will ensure that the Navy protects its greatest heroes against petty White House whims in the future,” Gallego concluded.
Trump told reporters that he had nothing to do with the order, and acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan also denied any involvement.
“I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t involved. I would not have done that,” Trump told reporters Thursday.
“Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like him. Okay? And they were well-meaning,” Trump said. “I didn’t know anything about it. I would never have done that.”
[Related: ‘Trump won’t let him RIP’: Meghan McCain responds to McCain ship controversy]
