US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has called on the Pentagon to review comments Democratic Senator Mark Kelly made about weapons stockpiles. Hegseth accused Kelly of “blabbing on TV” about what he said was a classified Pentagon briefing. “Did he violate his oath…again?” Hegseth wrote on X.
Kelly told CBS News’ Face The Nation programme of his concerns about US munitions stockpile following the war with Iran. He said it was “shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines”, citing a Pentagon briefing detailing specific munitions.
In response to Hegseth’s accusation, Kelly denied that he revealed classified information and said they “had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago”.
“You said it would take “years” to replenish some of these stockpiles,” the Arizona senator said in his own post on X, alongside a video of the pair at a Senate hearing last month.
“That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven’t explained to the American people what the goal is.”
The BBC has contacted Kelly, a former US Navy captain, for further comment.
When asked if it was investigating Kelly’s statements, the Pentagon referred back to Hegseth’s post.
Hegseth’s call to investigate Kelly came days after a federal appeals court appeared likely to reject the Pentagon’s plans to legally punish him over remarks that he made urging US service members to refuse unlawful orders.
A rejection would mark another setback in the Trump administration’s fight against Kelly and five other lawmakers who published a video in November encouraging troops to disobey orders that they deemed to be illegal.
Kelly sued the government in January, alleging Hegseth had illegally tried to demote him in retaliation for criticising the Trump administration.
In February, a US district judge issued a temporary injunction to block the demotion while the lawsuit proceeded. That decision was appealed by the Pentagon.
By BBC News
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