Defense

Hegseth’s latest attack on Kelly underlines alarm over US weapons stockpiles

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by Filip Timotija - 05/11/26 5:36 PM ET

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by Filip Timotija - 05/11/26 5:36 PM ET

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest attack against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is underscoring the alarm over the state of the U.S. military’s weapons stockpiles more than two months into the war with Iran.

Hegseth accused Kelly, a Navy veteran and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), of divulging classified information regarding key U.S. munitions during his appearance on a Sunday news show, putting a spotlight not only on his ongoing feud with the Arizona Republican but also on the high-usage rate of premier munitions against Tehran and the time it will take to replenish them.

“Let’s put aside that the general thrust of munition depletion is not classified, and Kelly did not go near the details. For Hegseth to bicker over classification rather than address the core argument Kelly makes suggests Hegseth simply can’t argue on the facts,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official who is now a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “It’s the national security equivalent of going ad hominem on a debate opponent when you’re poorly matched on knowledge, ability and content.”

The new chapter of the feud kicked off when Kelly said he and his Senate colleagues received a “detailed” briefing on the stockpiles of long-range Tomahawk missiles; Terminal High Altitude Area Defenses (THAADs), which are used to shield against short, medium and intermediate-range missiles; Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs); and Standard Missile 3 (SM-3s.), ship-based surface-to-air missiles.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s shocking 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, and because of that, we’ve expended a lot of munitions,” Kelly said on CBS.

“As for how long it will take to replenish those reserves,” the Arizona senator said. “We’re talking about years.”

In response, Hegseth said Kelly, a former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut, was “blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received.”

“Did he violate his oath…again,” Hegseth wrote in a social platform X post on Sunday, adding that the Pentagon’s legal counsel “will review” his comments to the network.

Kelly responded Sunday night, sharing a video from Hegseth’s recent testimony in front of SASC that showed the Arizona Democrat asking the Pentagon chief how long it will take for the U.S. military to replenish its weapons stockpiles.

“I think that’s exactly the right question, too, senator,” Hegseth told Kelly at the time. “Because the time frame we were existing under was unacceptable. And what this budget does, I mean, months and years. I mean, we’re building new plants in real time.”

Hegseth added the specific timeline for replenishment of those munitions — including JASSM, precision-guided cruise missiles — “depends on the weapon system” and slammed the Biden administration for sending munitions to Ukraine.

Rachel E. VanLandingham, a national security law expert and former Air Force active duty judge advocate who has been critical of Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon, said Hegseth’s threat is part of an “ongoing campaign” against Kelly and the Pentagon’s potential case against the senator has “no legal leg to stand on.”

“Show me what classified information that he revealed. Show me. Show me something that wasn’t already in the public arena. There isn’t anything there,” VanLandingham said in an interview with The Hill on Monday.

But Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), a Hegseth ally who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, agreed with the Pentagon head, saying Kelly needs to be “held accountable now.”

Kelly and Hegseth have locked horns before.

Hegseth attempted last year to reduce Kelly’s retired captain’s rank and sent Kelly a formal letter of censure after the Arizona lawmaker appeared alongside five other Democrats, all with either military or intelligence backgrounds, telling service members that they can refuse illegal orders.

The Arizona senator sued the Pentagon, and a federal judge in February blocked the department’s actions against Kelly, saying retired service members have First Amendment protections. Last week, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit appeared skeptical of the administration’s argument in the case.

More broadly, the jab from Hegse