Why the U.S. abandoned a nuclear strike cruiser

Why did the United States cancel CGN-42 and the strike-cruiser idea instead of replacing Long Beach?

The panel says expectations of a peaceful unipolar order made the expensive cruiser appear unnecessary, and that the Navy later regretted the decision.

The panel attributes cancellation of the proposed nuclear cruiser to planners who expected a peaceful, unipolar order. Under that assumption, U.S. naval dominance made an expensive Long Beach successor or strike cruiser look unnecessary. The passage says the Navy later regretted losing the capability, but it does not give a detailed design or budget critique. Its value is as a force-planning warning: confidence in a durable strategic forecast can remove a costly platform before later competition reveals the gap.