Pete Hegseth Clashes with Mark Kelly Over Alleged Pentagon Ammunition Waste in Iran War

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has renewed his public feud with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, this time over Kelly’s remarks about the U.S. military’s ammunition expenditure in the ongoing war with Iran.

Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation on May 11, 2026, Kelly stated,

‘It was shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines. We’ve expended a lot of munitions. And that means the American people are less safe. Whether it’s a conflict in the western Pacific with China or somewhere else in the world, the munitions are depleted.’

Hegseth responded swiftly on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Kelly of disclosing classified information.

“‘Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again. 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.”

Kelly countered that the ammunition waste was already a public topic, citing Hegseth’s own admission during a congressional hearing just days prior.

‘We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take “years” to replenish some of these stockpiles. 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.’

Kelly reiterated his concerns in a post on X, tagging Hegseth and the Department of Defense.

‘We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take “years” to replenish some of these stockpiles. 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… https://t.co/q3wX9AjRzO’

This latest dispute follows a months-long conflict between the two, which began when Hegseth attempted to censure Kelly and reduce his pension after Kelly appeared in a video with other former servicemembers in Congress. In the video, Kelly advised military personnel to refuse illegal orders from the Trump administration. A federal appeals court recently signaled skepticism toward Hegseth’s efforts to punish Kelly, potentially fueling the defense secretary’s ongoing campaign against the senator.