By George Caldwell, The Daily Signal | May 11, 2026
Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly is being blasted by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth after speaking publicly on depleted munitions stockpiles, with the lawmaker accused of revealing classified information.
However, Kelly argues the Pentagon has already publicly acknowledged depleted munitions.
In an interview aired Sunday, Kelly told CBS News that he had received “shocking” information on stockpile shortages in briefings from the Department of War.
“A number of times we’ve been briefed by the Pentagon on specific munitions … It’s been pretty detailed on Tomahawks, on ATACMs, SM-3s, THAAD rounds … interceptor rounds to defend ourselves,” said Kelly, who added it was “shocking … how deep we have gone into these magazines.”
He continued, “We’ve expended a lot of munitions, and that means the American people are less safe.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth condemned the senator’s remarks, implying he had violated the law by discussing classified briefings.
“Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received,” Hegseth wrote Sunday on X. “Did he violate his oath…again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will review.”
The department has previously investigated Kelly for a video in which he told service members that they do not need to obey illegal orders.
However, Kelly argued that his remarks in the interview were based on publicly available information that Hegseth himself shared in a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
“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,” Kelly replied to Hegseth on X.
The senator referenced a clip in which Hegseth told Kelly in the hearing that an expanded Pentagon budget would allow the department to replenish depleted munitions in “months and years.”
Depleted stockpiles have been a subject of public discussion. The Center for Strategic and International Studies has published an analysis arguing the Iran operation could lead to munitions shortages in future operations.
George Caldwell is a correspondent for the Daily Signal.
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