Lawmakers and shipyards are facing uncertainty in the midst of mixed messages from the Trump administration when it comes to commitment to expand shipbuilding in the United States.

Earlier this month during a joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump announced plans for a new White House office for shipbuilding, an effort to boost volume of ships pumped out by U.S. shipyards. That pledge has come at the same time as federal funding uncertainties that have prompted hiring freezes at some of these same shipyards.

Monday, U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Chris Pappas (D-New Hampshire), Emily Randall (D-Washington), Ed Chase (D-Hawaii) and Bobby Scott (D-Virginia) released a letter sounding the alarm over the administration’s hiring freezes and workforce cuts at shipyards, including Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

The letter to Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued investments in America’s shipyards are in the best interest of national security.

“Since the end of the Cold War, the US has underinvested in our shipyards — both public and private — leading to a diminished ability to produce and maintain ships at the rate required to match our adversaries,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Mixed messages

On Feb. 27, Trump’s draft executive order to “Make Shipbuilding Great Again” was released, with the aim of enhancing shipbuilding capacity, investing in cutting-edge technologies and cultivating a highly skilled workforce.

Pingree argued that the White House’s policies and funding decisions have already undercut that effort.

On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order freezing federal hiring and requiring federal workers to return to in-person work — without exempting shipbuilding efforts. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has threatened further cuts and federal grant withdrawals that forced some shipyards, including Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, to cancel hiring events and freeze hiring events. The Kittery shipyard also laid off six workers, but those layoffs were quickly reversed.

“The chaos and uncertainty caused by these actions is unproductive and harmful to the important growth that is needed at our shipyards,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote. “The impact that these orders have on our country’s ability to build ships, complete with our adversaries on the seas, and hire Americans for good paying jobs, will be catastrophic to our country’s safety.”

Last week, during a meeting of the American Armed Services Committee, experts testified that labor issues remain a major barrier for the United States’ efforts to compete with adversaries in the maritime domain. Pingree and her colleagues say American shipbuilders need policies supporting shipyards more than rhetoric from the White House, and this should start with reversing executive orders that have sparked uncertainty.

“In 2024, China was estimated to have a shipbuilding capacity 230 times greater than that of the United States,” the lawmakers wrote.

Craig Hopper, CEO and founder of Themistocles Advisory Group, a consulting firm specializing in maritime and national security strategy, said the uncertainty in the government and the corporate world has stopped productive work because no one knows if they will still have a job. It is challenging for businesses because they don’t know if they can take on a big risk in an uncertain environment that the current administration is providing to the public.

“Right now, there is so much uncertainty in both the government and the commercial side, there is just no productive work getting done,” Hopper said.

What an office of shipbuilding means

Hopper said there had not been an office for shipbuilding in the White House before. Still, the Trump administration is interested in rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector, and shipbuilding is one large component.

“I think there’s also an increased awareness that the deindustrialization of America’s waterfront since World War II has swung too far, and there’s a recognition that our security and our trade depends on cargo that comes in by sea,” Hooper said. “Having an ability to contribute to that sector is both a security and economic risk.”

Before Pingree’s press release, Bath Iron Works directed The Times Record toward a statement from the Shipbuilding Council of America’s Facebook page.

“We applaud the creation of the White House of Shipbuilding, and the entire shipyard industrial base not only stands at the ready to work with the new Office of US Shipbuilding, but we are also ready to answer the call to design and build America’s commercial and military fleets,” wrote Matthew Paxton, president of Shipbuilders of America.

Bath Iron Works officials and union representatives declined to comment Monday.