War Secretary Pete Hegseth blasted Sen. Mark Kelly Sunday after the Arizona Democrat claimed during a TV interview that it would take “years” for the Pentagon to replenish its weapons stockpiles following the Iran war.
“‘Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again,” Hegseth wrote on X. “Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received. Did he violate his oath…again? [Pentagon] legal counsel will review.”
Kelly had claimed on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” that “it’s shocking the – how deep we have gone into these magazines because this president got our country into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. APThe senator, a retired Navy captain and former NASA astronaut, told host Margaret Brennan that the War Department had given him and his colleagues “pretty detailed” briefings about its stockpile of missiles, including “Tomahawks, ATACMS, SM-3s, THAAD rounds, Patriot rounds, so those interceptor rounds to defend ourselves.”
“We’ve expended a lot of munitions,” Kelly added. “And that means the American people are less safe. Whether it’s a conflict in the western Pacific with China or somewhere else in the world, the munitions are depleted. You may have seen me ask the secretary of defense this question about how long it’s going to take to replenish. We’re talking about years.”
Kelly responded to Hegseth’s “blabbing” accusation on social media Sunday evening, writing: “We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles. That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven’t explained to the American people what the goal is.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) holds a press conference after a veterans town hall at John S. McCain VFW Post 7401 on May 8, 2026 in Chandler, Arizona. Getty ImagesThe senator included a clip of Hegseth’s April 30 appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, during which the secretary said that the US had “fired years worth of munitions” during the war, which passed the 10-week mark on Saturday.
The back-and-forth came amid a dispute over whether Hegseth can dock Kelly’s rank and pay after the senator took part in a video with five of his Democratic colleagues this past November urging service members to refuse “illegal orders.”
President Trump called the video “seditious behavior,” and an FBI investigation followed, but a DC grand jury failed to indict any of the six on unspecified charges.
Hegseth questioned whether Kelly, a former Navy pilot, may have violated his oath and said the Pentagon’s legal counsel will review his comments. Getty Images
Trump, flanked by Hegseth, speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 6, 2026. REUTERSIn February, a DC federal judge blocked the Pentagon from pursuing what Kelly called an “unconstitutional and legally baseless proceeding.” The department has appealed that ruling.
The other lawmakers — Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania — were not subject to military discipline.
