Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is accusing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) of irresponsibly disclosing details of a classified Pentagon briefing during a nationally televised interview, and says the Department of Wars legal team will now scrutinize the matter.
According to Mediaite, Hegseth took to X on Sunday night to denounce Kelly after the Arizona Democrat discussed a secret Pentagon briefing about the Iran war and its effect on U.S. munitions. Captain Mark Kelly strikes again, Hegseth wrote, adding, Now hes babbling on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED Pentagon briefing he received.
Hegseth pressed the issue further, asking, Did he violate his oathagain? [The Department of War] legal counsel will review. His remarks came in response to Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan, who highlighted Kellys appearance on her program earlier in the day.
Brennan said Kelly had been briefed on the Pentagons classified assessment of the Iran war and its impact on U.S. weapons stockpiles, and that he described it as shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines. She did not initially mention that Kelly immediately pivoted to blaming President Donald Trump, claiming he got our country into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline.
Brennan further summarized Kellys comments by saying he warned that Tomahawks, ATACMS, SM-3, THAAD rounds, and Patriot rounds have been hit hard, and that he believes it will take years to rebuild the nations arsenal. Kelly also sounded an alarm about national security, telling her, The American people are less safe, and warning, Whether its a conflict in the Western Pacific with China or somewhere else in the world, munitions are depleted.
He went on to question what, exactly, the American people are gaining from the Iran war, underscoring a familiar Democrat narrative of criticizing U.S. military posture while enjoying the protection it provides. This latest clash is only the newest chapter in a running feud between Hegseth and Kelly, one that has increasingly centered on questions of loyalty, legality, and the proper role of elected officials in directing the armed forces.
Last fall, Hegseth condemned Kellys conduct as seditious after the senator joined five other Democrats in a video urging troops to refuse illegal orders. For many conservatives, Hegseths latest broadside reinforces a broader concern: that Democrats like Kelly are willing to politicize classified information and undermine military discipline, even as they claim to champion national security.
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