Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's latest broadside against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has thrown a harsh spotlight on the dwindling state of America's weapons reserves more than two months into the conflict with Iran. The Pentagon chief accused Kelly—a Navy veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee—of leaking classified information during a Sunday television appearance, but critics say the charge is a distraction from a far more troubling reality: the military is burning through its most advanced munitions at an unsustainable rate.
Hegseth took to X on Sunday, accusing Kelly of “blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received.” He added that the Pentagon’s legal counsel would review the senator’s remarks. But national security experts and former officials quickly dismissed the threat as baseless. “Let’s put aside that the general thrust of munition depletion is not classified, and Kelly did not go near the details,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official now at the American Enterprise Institute. “For Hegseth to bicker over classification rather than address the core argument Kelly makes suggests Hegseth simply can’t argue on the facts.”
The dispute erupted after Kelly appeared on CBS and described a classified briefing on the status of key weapons systems, including Tomahawk missiles, THAAD interceptors, Precision Strike Missiles, and SM-3 ship-based surface-to-air missiles. “The numbers are, I think it’s fair to say it’s shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines,” Kelly said, adding that “this president got our country into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline.” He warned that replenishing those reserves would take “years.”
Hegseth’s response drew immediate criticism from legal experts. Rachel E. VanLandingham, a former Air Force judge advocate and national security law scholar, called the threat part of an “ongoing campaign” against Kelly with “no legal leg to stand on.” She challenged Hegseth to point to any classified information Kelly actually revealed. “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,” she said.
This is not the first time the two have clashed. Hegseth previously tried to reduce Kelly’s retired captain’s rank and issued a formal letter of censure after Kelly and five other Democrats with military backgrounds advised service members they could refuse illegal orders. Kelly sued, and a federal judge blocked the Pentagon’s actions, citing First Amendment protections. Last week, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit appeared skeptical of the administration’s arguments in that case. The appeals panel pressed the Pentagon on whether it can limit retirees’ speech.
Behind the personal feud lies a strategic crisis. Since the conflict with Iran began on Feb. 28, the U.S. military has expended thousands of missiles, draining stockpiles that would be critical in a potential confrontation with China over Taiwan. Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month that rebuilding production capacity for these high-cost munitions could take one to two years. “It won’t be soon enough,” he said. “There are finite limits to the magazine.”
Kelly’s concerns echo those of other lawmakers and defense experts who have warned that the war with Iran has forced the Pentagon to pull weapons from other regions to sustain operations in the Middle East. During a recent SASC hearing, Kelly directly asked Hegseth how long replenishment would take. Hegseth replied, “I think that’s exactly the right question, too, senator. Because the time frame we were existing under was unacceptable… months and years. I mean, we’re building new plants in real time.” He also blamed the Biden administration for sending munitions to Ukraine, a move he said exacerbated the current shortfall.
Despite Hegseth’s threats, Kelly remains defiant. He posted a video of Hegseth’s own testimony acknowledging the lengthy replenishment timeline, effectively undercutting the Pentagon chief’s accusation. Meanwhile, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), a Hegseth ally on the House Armed Services Committee, backed the secretary, saying Kelly must be “held accountable now.” But for many observers, the real story is not the spat itself—it’s what it reveals about the state of U.S. military readiness. As one analyst put it, “Hegseth’s attack is the national security equivalent of going ad hominem when you’re poorly matched on knowledge, ability and content.”
