US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected a media report that he confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over dwindling US munitions stockpiles during the Iran war, while voicing strong support for his Pentagon chief.
"The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"Pete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid of DEI, and increasing recruitment to historic levels," Trump wrote, calling The Washington Post report "false", saying their "fake reporting" is "treasonous."
The statement came a day after The Washington Post reported that Trump confronted Hegseth during a Camp David meeting over severe shortages of key munitions that had constrained US military options in the conflict with Iran.
Citing two people familiar with the exchange, the Post reported that Trump demanded answers after learning that shortages of key weapons, including long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors, had not been resolved, despite his understanding that the issue "had been fixed."
The report said the shortages have been a factor in Trump's decision to hold back from launching additional large-scale strikes against Iran in recent days.
According to the report, Hegseth defended himself during the exchange and blamed Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg for the shortages and "for not ensuring Trump was fully apprised" about the state of US stockpiles.
The White House and the Pentagon denied the report, with chief spokesman Sean Parnell saying Hegseth "did not mislead anyone about our munitions posture" and describing the allegations as "fictional."
