Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon will review whether Sen. Mark Kelly improperly disclosed classified information when the Arizona Democrat and retired Navy captain raised concerns about the strain the war with Iran has placed on U.S. weapons stockpiles.<\/p>\n
Hegseth, in a social media post<\/a> Sunday evening, blasted Kelly for “blabbing on TV” after the senator appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that morning and discussed strains on the Pentagon’s ammunition inventory.\u00a0<\/p>\n “‘Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again,” Hegseth posted. “Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received. Did he violate his oath … again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will review.”<\/p>\n Sen. Mark Kelly walks past Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine before the start of a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, April 30, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n During the CBS interview, Kelly pointed to recent open-door Pentagon briefings to Congress, which he says outlined that U.S. stockpiles of key munitions, including Tomahawk and ATACMS missiles, are being rapidly depleted amid the war with Iran.<\/p>\n A Pentagon review of Kelly’s comments would mark the second time Hegseth has sought to punish him, the first being after Kelly and several other Democratic military and intelligence service veterans posted a video<\/a> advising U.S. troops to not follow illegal orders. Hegseth sought to demote Kelly<\/a>, which would reduce his military pension.<\/p>\n A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals expressed skepticism over Hegseth\u2019s effort to punish Kelly over the comments during oral arguments last week.<\/p>\n The Pentagon says it has hit some 13,000 targets in the war with Iran. In some cases, those targets may need to be hit several times, it said. Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III told lawmakers in late April that the war had cost at least $25 billion to that point, noting that much of that was for munitions use.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s shocking how deep we’ve gone into these magazines,” Kelly said.<\/p>\n Following Hegseth’s threat, Kelly responded on social media<\/a>, showing a clip from last week’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in which Hegseth is shown saying it would take years to replenish stockpiles to pre-war levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles,” Kelly said. “That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you.”<\/p>\n![\"PHOTO:](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/59a1058b-683a-4f67-b125-11a009dfd427\/pete-hegseth-4-gty-gmh-260430_1777570067462_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Captain\\"")
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