Hegseth Investigates Senator Kelly Over Munitions Disclosure

Pete Hegseth initiated a Pentagon legal review of Senator Mark Kelly after the Arizona Democrat discussed depleted U.S. munitions stockpiles on CBS's "Face the Nation" on May 10, 2026. Kelly, a Senate Armed Services Committee member, described the drawdown in Tomahawks, ATACMS, SM-3 interceptors, THAAD, and Patriot rounds as "shocking" and warned that the war with Iran — launched without a strategic goal, plan, or timeline — has left Americans less safe, particularly regarding a potential conflict with China. He also called the administration's $1.5 trillion defense budget request "outrageous" and criticized the "Golden Dome" missile defense system as unlikely to work.

Hegseth accused Kelly of "blabbing on TV" about a classified Pentagon briefing and questioned whether the senator had violated his oath, directing the Department of War's legal counsel to investigate. Kelly countered that the information was not classified, citing Hegseth's own public testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 30 in which the secretary acknowledged replenishment would take "months and years." Representative Adam Smith criticized Hegseth for prioritizing a partisan feud over managing the war.

This marks the second time Hegseth has sought to punish Kelly. A previous attempt to demote Kelly and reduce his military pension over a November video urging service members to refuse illegal orders was blocked by a federal judge as unconstitutionally retaliatory, and a federal appeals court appeared skeptical of reviving those efforts. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately stated the Iran war is not over, despite the administration formally declaring Operation Epic Fury "terminated" on May 1. A CSIS analysis found the U.S. military burned through nearly half its stockpiles of key munitions in the first 39 days of the campaign, with replenishment projected to take up to four years.