NOT GOOD:

Trump’s shipbuilding agenda is sinking.

I returned this week from shipyard tours in California to a flood of calls and DMs from DC and none of the news is good.

Friday marks 45 days since the president signed the Executive Order mandating a full shipbuilding review in 45 days.… pic.twitter.com/UAt84Zz0gx

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) May 20, 2025

Excerpts:

Friday marks 45 days since the president signed the Executive Order mandating a full shipbuilding review in 45 days. So far, only one Cabinet Secretary has shown any urgency, and only in the past few days.

I pray I’m missing something, but sources inside every relevant department say otherwise. There’s no indication @SecDuffy, @KristiNoem, or @SecDef are prioritizing this effort.
…
The acting head of MARAD is a West Point classmate of Mark Esper—yes, the same Esper who helped auction off the Army’s watercraft fleet. Sources claim he’s undermining both Trump’s and Esper’s maritime goals.
…
On the Navy side, there’s no serious effort underway to reorganize the 83,000-person shipbuilding & repair enterprise. The critical SUPSHIP AGM role is still up in the air.

No admirals have been fired. No CNO appointed. The acting CNO is offering nothing but bureaucratic word salad.
…
No one with real, hands-on experience building commercial ships at world-class yards has been hired.

Finally, after a promising bipartisan start, several top maritime leaders are breaking ranks publicly voicing concern about last-minute changes made to the bill and there are rumors that Mark Kelly’s strong anti-Trump rhetoric could sink the effort.
…
Silver lining? Trump & JD are, by all accounts, more interested in shipbuilding lately, not less.

Trump has an awful lot on his plate, but he needs to reiterate what he expects and demand results — or else.