Nitro - Politico report is the capstone on rumors since last summer - the USN put a three-year delay in F-35C at least (probably the B as well) into its ALT POM, the budget proposal that anticipated the real budget. (The baseline assumed more money that the Pentagon will get.)
Hence also the barrage of propaganda from LMT and its representatives about how cheap the F-35 will be compared to the F/A-18 - that is, as long as production plans are not changed by one iota.
The Navy is not ready to say/has not decided that it wants out completely. However, there seems to be strong feeling that the F-35C will not be much better than F-18 until it gets a couple of blocks beyond Block 3F (which itself does not arrive before 2019-20).