Pete Hegseth Calls for Pentagon To Investigate Sen. Mark Kelly Again Over Weapons Stockpile Remarks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for the Pentagon to investigate Sen. Mark Kelly for a second time over Kelly’s remarks about U.S. weapons stockpiles, after Kelly appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and said it was “shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines.”

“- Published US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has called on the Pentagon to review comments Democratic Senator Mark Kelly made about weapons stockpiles”

BBC

Hegseth posted on social media that “Did he violate his oath…again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will review,” framing Kelly’s comments as disclosure of a classified Pentagon briefing.

BBC

Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan that “We’ve expended a lot of munitions. And that means the American people are less safe,” and said replenishment could take years.

The dispute comes as Hegseth’s earlier effort to punish Kelly over remarks encouraging service members to refuse illegal orders faced setbacks in court, with CNN reporting that a federal appeals court appeared ready to reject the defense secretary’s plans.

CNN also reported that the U.S. military has significantly depleted its stockpile of key missiles during the war with Iran, and that as of April 21 it had expended at least 45% of its stockpile of Precision Strike Missiles.

Kelly responded to Hegseth’s accusation by posting that “We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles,” insisting it was “not classified, it’s a quote from you.”

On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Kelly said Pentagon briefings showed concerns about depletion of munitions including Tomahawks, ATACMS and Patriot rounds, and he warned that “American inventories” had been “severely drawn down” during the Iran conflict.

CNN

Hegseth countered on X by accusing Kelly of “blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received,” and said the department’s legal counsel would review whether the senator violated his oath.

The BBC reported that when asked if the Pentagon was investigating Kelly, the Pentagon referred back to Hegseth’s post, while also noting that Hegseth’s call to investigate came days after an appeals court appeared likely to reject earlier punishment plans.

BBC further reported that Kelly sued Hegseth in January and that in February a U.S. district judge issued a temporary injunction to block the demotion while the lawsuit proceeded.

Kelly’s warnings about depleted stockpiles are tied to the ongoing war with Iran, and he told CBS News that “Whether it’s a conflict in the western Pacific with China or somewhere else in the world, the munitions are depleted.”

“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has indicated that the Pentagon’s legal counsel will review public statements made by Senator Mark Kelly, D-Ariz”

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The Washington Times reported that Kelly said the U.S. is “less prepared for a major military conflict” after depleting munitions stockpiles, and he described the Pentagon’s briefing as detailing Tomahawks, ATACMS, SM-3 and THAAD and Patriot rounds used in the war against Iran.

Kelly also said in that interview that the need to replenish munitions does not justify the Trump administration’s “outrageous” $1.5 trillion defense budget request for the coming fiscal year, arguing that when he arrived in the Senate “the defense budget was just over $700 billion.”

The legal and political fight over Kelly’s status has continued alongside the stockpile dispute, with CNN describing that Kelly sued Hegseth in January after the Pentagon announced administrative action including reducing his last military rank and issuing a letter of censure.

CNN reported that the Pentagon’s review is happening more than two months into the U.S.’ war with Iran, and that the dispute over stockpiles and replenishment is now entangled with the broader effort to punish Kelly over his November video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders.