"I Thought the Problem Was Solved": The Shortage That Led to the Clash Between Trump and Hegseth

Tensions between Trump and Hegseth reached a boiling point at Camp David over an alleged severe shortage of missiles and interceptors resulting from the war with Iran. According to the Washington Post, Trump demanded explanations for why he received a misleading picture of weapons stockpiles. The White House and Pentagon deny the report.

Tensions between US President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reached a boiling point during the administration's gathering at Camp David last Friday, against the backdrop of an alleged severe shortage of missiles and interceptors created by the prolonged war with Iran. This was reported overnight by the Washington Post, citing two sources familiar with the conversation. According to the report, Trump demanded that Hegseth explain why he allegedly received a misleading picture regarding American weapons stockpiles. The president said he was convinced that the inventory problem had "already been solved." The shortage, especially of long-range guided cruise missiles and air defense interceptors, was among the factors that led him in recent days to refrain from further large-scale strikes against Iran. On Monday, Trump said he had ordered what he called "the largest attack since World War II," but canceled it after claims of renewed progress in negotiations on opening the Strait of Hormuz. According to the sources, when Trump confronted him, Hegseth defended his conduct and placed responsibility on his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, claiming he did not ensure the president received all the information. The confrontation reflected, according to the report, Trump's growing frustration with the Secretary of War, who was among the prominent supporters at the start of the campaign against Iran and presented it to the president as a move that might end in a quick and relatively easy victory. The data illustrate the scale of attrition: in the first month of the war alone, the US launched more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles and more than 1,000 Patriot and THAAD interceptors. In the early weeks, more than 1,300 tactical ballistic missiles of the ATACMS type, also used by Ukraine, were fired. According to one source, the stockpile was so depleted that almost no missiles of this type remained. The shortage of interceptors is already affecting Ukraine, which remains more exposed to Russia's long-range strikes. It has also led to a change in how the US decides whether to intercept an incoming threat, based on its trajectory and the assessed level of risk it poses. Even before the war broke out, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, warned that the US did not have stockpiles that would allow it to conduct a prolonged campaign. Hegseth, Feinberg, and General Caine requested an additional $67 billion from Congress to fund the war and replenish stockpiles. Even after signing new production agreements, production of some missiles may take about two years. The White House, for its part, strongly denied the report. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated: "This is 100% fake news. It simply never happened, and President Trump has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth." Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell added that Hegseth "did not mislead anyone about the state of our ammunition and did not blame Deputy Secretary Feinberg," and claimed that reports of internal disputes and depletion of stockpiles are "fictional."