U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed to suggest in a recent social media post that Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) might be in some hot water over comments he made concerning a classified Pentagon brief. Hegseth shared a post from Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan in which she provided details about Kelly’s comments regarding U.S. weapons stockpiles.
“After hearing the Pentagon classified brief on Iran war impact on U.S. weapons stockpiles, Senator Mark Kelly says it is ‘shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines.’ He said the Tomahawks, ATACMS, SM-3, THAAD rounds, Patriot rounds, so those interceptor rounds to defend ourselves have been hit hard. He says it’ll take years to replenish those stockpiles, which could affect a hypothetical U.S. conflict with China,” Brennan stated.
Hegseth responded to the post with criticism for Kelly, who is a retired U.S. Navy captain, and revealed that officials were going to be taking action. “‘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,” he went on to write.
According to a report published by Breitbart, back in November 2025, the Department of War launched a probe into Kelly after “serious allegations of misconduct” were leveled against him, including accusations of “sedition” from President Donald Trump. The president’s remarks concerning Kelly came after the senator participated in a video with several other Democrat lawmakers who encouraged military service members to “refuse illegal orders” from the administration.
In the video, Kelly stated, “Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders.” The Democratic senator later described the DOW’s investigation into the video as “almost comical.” In January 2026, Breitbart reported, “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced administrative action against retired Navy Captain Mark Kelly, citing public statements from the second half of 2025 that the Department of War says were ‘seditious’ and encouraged service members to disobey lawful orders.”
“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said at the time. “As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”
Kelly responded to Hegseth’s comments about his remarks on the weapons stockpile, claiming in a post on social media, “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.”
In April 2026, Hegseth declared there had been a “historic and overwhelming victory” in the war against Iran and President Trump had “forged this moment.” He then added, “The President has been clear from the beginning, there will be no Iranian nuclear weapons. Period, full stop. Other presidents said it. President Trump did it. We control their fate, not the other way around.”
