Mark Kelly

War Department attorneys will review whether Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., violated his oath of service by discussing on national TV details of a classified briefing, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

Hegseth accused the retired Navy captain and former astronaut of improperly disclosing sensitive Pentagon information during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," where Kelly discussed U.S. weapon stockpiles amid the Iran war.

"'Captain' Mark Kelly strikes again," Hegseth posted Sunday night on X. "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 told CBS host Margaret Brennan that Pentagon briefings on Tomahawks, ATACMS, THAAD interceptors, Patriot missiles, and other munitions revealed "shocking" depletion levels after months of military operations against Iran.

"We've expended a lot of munitions," Kelly said. "And that means the American people are less safe."

Kelly further claimed it could take "years" to replenish some weapon systems and suggested the U.S. could face increased vulnerability in a potential conflict with communist China over Taiwan.

But Hegseth argued Kelly was discussing information obtained through classified congressional briefings.

The clash marks the latest escalation in a bitter feud between the Pentagon chief and Kelly, who previously sued Hegseth after the War Department tried to reduce Kelly's retired Navy rank and issue him a formal censure tied to a video urging military personnel to reject orders from the Trump administration.

Federal courts have blocked the Pentagon's disciplinary efforts, though the legal battle is ongoing.

A three-judge panel at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last week heard arguments concerning Hegseth's plans to punish Kelly over his call to U.S. service members to refuse orders, CNN reported.

Kelly quickly fired back at Hegseth on Sunday evening, posting video from a public Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in which Hegseth himself acknowledged that replenishing U.S. stockpiles could take "months and years," depending on the weapons.

"We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take 'years' to replenish some of these stockpiles," Kelly wrote on X. "That's not classified."

During the CBS interview, Kelly repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump's foreign policy, accusing the administration of entering the Iran conflict "without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline."

Republicans have argued Kelly's public discussion of military readiness and arms inventories, especially after receiving detailed classified briefings, risked handing valuable intelligence to America's adversaries at a time of heightened global tension.