US President Donald Trump confronted US defence secretary Pete Hegseth during a meeting at Camp David over severe shortages of key military munitions that have constrained Washington’s options in the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to a report by The Washington Post. The report said Trump questioned why he had not been fully informed about depleted missile stockpiles, with the exchange highlighting growing tensions between the president and his defence chief.Citing two people familiar with the matter, the newspaper reported that Trump challenged Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting on Friday, saying he believed the munitions problem “had been fixed.” The shortages, particularly of long-range precision-guided missiles and air defence interceptors, have become a key factor behind Trump’s decision to hold back additional large-scale military strikes against Iran, according to one of the sources.The reported confrontation came days after Trump said he had ordered and later called off “the biggest attack since World War II” while citing fresh negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz.The report said the US military has rapidly depleted critical missile inventories during more than five months of fighting with Iran. In the first month of the conflict alone, US forces reportedly fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles, over 1,000 Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, and more than 1,300 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). One source told the newspaper the ATACMS stockpile has been exhausted to the point that “there’s basically none left.“Meanwhile, white house spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in a post on X denied any such claims and said, “I was at Camp David with President Trump and Secretary Hegseth. This literally never happened, and we told the Washington Post that repeatedly. This B.S. story was shopped to many outlets by someone clearly out to disparage the Secretary, for whatever reason. Unfortunately for them, the President loves the Secretary and thinks he’s doing a tremendous job.“The shortages have also affected US support for Ukraine, which is facing dwindling air defence supplies as Western inventories shrink. According to the report, the scarcity of interceptor missiles has forced the Pentagon to change how it assesses whether incoming threats should be intercepted, depending on their trajectory and potential impact.The Washington Post reported that Hegseth defended himself during the Camp David meeting and blamed Deputy Defence Secretary Stephen Feinberg for failing to ensure Trump was fully briefed on the extent of the shortages.The White House and Pentagon strongly denied the report.“This is 100% fake news. Literally never happened. And President Trump has the utmost confidence in Secretary Hegseth,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell also rejected the claims.“Secretary Hegseth did not mislead anyone about our munitions posture, and he did not blame Deputy Secretary Feinberg. These claims about depleted stockpiles, internal disagreements, the Secretary’s position on Iran … are equally fictional,” Parnell said.The report said the Camp David exchange reflected Trump’s growing frustration with Hegseth, who had been among the strongest advocates for military action against Iran and reportedly argued that the campaign would be swift and relatively straightforward.The administration is now seeking additional funding to replenish US military inventories. Hegseth, Feinberg and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine have asked Congress for an additional $67 billion to cover the costs of the Iran conflict and rebuild depleted stockpiles. Hegseth previously described the funding request as an “urgent, necessary” requirement, although Senate Republicans have yet to agree on a strategy to advance the package.According to the report, the Pentagon’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget for the next fiscal year includes tens of billions of dollars for missile production. However, the spending plan has stalled in Congress amid opposition from Democrats, delaying efforts to replenish critical weapons inventories.The report noted that rebuilding the arsenal will take years despite new production agreements announced by the Pentagon. Patriot interceptors and other advanced munitions require lengthy manufacturing timelines, with defence experts warning that production cannot accelerate without congressional appropriations and signed contracts.“aren’t going to start bending metal until you have a contract and congressional appropriations,” Brad Bowman, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Washington Post.“We’re often talking years between spending what we need to spend, getting the contracts signed, and delivery,” he added. “You don’t just flip the switch and suddenly the munition appears in the hands of the warfighter.”
