Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on Thursday sharply criticized President Trump's directive to the U.S. Navy to revert to older steam-powered catapults and hydraulic systems on its newest aircraft carriers, calling the move both financially reckless and a sign of presidential overreach.
Speaking on MS Now, Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not mince words. "He's a marginally failed real estate developer with multiple bankruptcies," Kelly said. "He shouldn't be weighing in on systems, on aircraft carriers."
Trump's order, issued earlier in the day, would scrap the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on Ford-class carriers in favor of the older steam catapults used on Nimitz-class ships. The change would affect future vessels, including the USS Doris Miller, which is already under construction and designed for EMALS.
Kelly, who has logged hundreds of carrier takeoffs and landings and holds a degree in aeronautical and marine engineering, argued that such a midstream redesign would force the Navy to rework ships well into development. "It's probably going to cost billions of dollars," he warned, adding that he would never presume to tell Navy engineers how to design a carrier despite his own technical background.
"Donald Trump knows nothing about this stuff," Kelly continued. "Not in any world would I suggest to the Navy to change the design of some system on a ship at this point." He also questioned the president's grasp of governance: "Does the guy know nothing about the way our government is supposed to work and how it's supposed to be managed?"
The president has long criticized EMALS, calling it too expensive and complicated. At a defense summit in Pennsylvania last month, Trump said, "Billions of dollars more they spent on electric catapults and they're not good."
However, the Navy's own preliminary data from earlier this year suggests EMALS is performing well. According to a February release, initial results from the Sortie Generation Rate test program on the USS Gerald R. Ford indicate that the combination of EMALS and Advanced Arresting Gear has contributed to a higher launch rate than that of older Nimitz-class carriers. The Navy noted it was still analyzing the data but acknowledged the improved performance.
The clash comes amid broader tensions between the White House and Congress over military readiness. Kelly's criticism echoes concerns raised by other lawmakers, including those who have pressed for action on carrier conditions. As the debate unfolds, the fate of the Ford-class program—and the billions already invested—hangs in the balance.
