White House Denies Reported Clash Between Trump and Hegseth Over Munitions Shortage

The White House and the Pentagon have denied a report from The Washington Post claiming that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed at Camp David over a shortage of munitions. According to the report, which cited anonymous sources, Trump expressed frustration on Friday because he believed he had been misled about a severe shortage of long range missiles and air defense interceptors that could limit military options regarding Iran. The report further alleged that Hegseth defended himself by blaming his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for the shortage and the failure to keep the president informed. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the account as false, stating that the event never occurred and describing the story as an attempt to disparage the Secretary. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell also called the report false. President Trump stated that the United States has more munitions than anyone in the world and more than it needs, adding that defense companies are expanding production at record levels. Separate reports from Reuters indicate that the U.S. Army has used a significant portion of its stockpile of highly accurate long range missiles during a five month conflict with Iran. These reports suggest that the depletion of Army Tactical Missile Systems and Patriot interceptors has also impacted the ability of the U.S. to supply Ukraine, a situation Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said encourages Russian attacks.