NORFOLK, Va. — After weeks of uncertainty, it's now full speed ahead for the USS Harry S. Truman.
"There was never any, any doubt on the congressional side, both Democrats and Republicans, that we believed the refueling on the Truman was necessary," said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia). "And we were going to make that change."
Vice President Mike Pence beat lawmakers to the draw, making the big announcement aboard the Truman at Naval Station Norfolk Tuesday.
"The President told me, 'You go tell that crew we are not retiring the Truman,'" said Pence on Tuesday.
Wednesday, President Trump chimed in, tweeting, "I am overriding the Decommission Order of the magnificent aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman... It will be updated at a fraction of the cost of a new one."
For weeks, the official line from the Pentagon was the 2024 mid-life overhaul and nuclear refueling of the Truman needed to be canceled to save $4 billion and to put that money towards developing new weapons systems.
Kaine said he and his colleagues never bought into the idea.
"On the Armed Services Committee, Democrats and Republicans alike have been pestering the administration to explain or justify this, and it sounds like the administration listened yesterday.," he said. "We were puzzled when the President's budget recommended that. But, we were excited to hear the news yesterday that the administration was listening to us."
Now that the plan has been officially scrapped, it is full speed ahead for the 21-year-old Truman, which should go on to serve the nation for another 25 years.
"That's a big win for national security," he said. "But it's also a big win for Virginia. Because the work is done at the shipyard in Newport News."
It means the $4 billion, 48-month mid-life overhaul and nuclear refueling job at Hampton Roads' largest private employer, Newport News Shipbuilding, is back on track starting in 2024.
Among other lawmakers weighing in, Virginia First District Representative Rob Wittman said:
This is the right choice, and I am glad to see the administration make this correction.