Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was fact-checked live on the air by “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan Sunday after attempting to walk back testimony about American military weapons stockpiles.
The pair’s conversation turned toward a previous appearance by Ukraine’s President Zelensky, who asked the world for the ability to produce interceptors, an idea that’s been supported by some Republicans in the U.S.
After Brennan asked if Hegseth also supports request, he answered, “Nobody makes better and more munitions than the United States of America. And we are open to co-production wherever we can.”
“And because of this administration, we’re supercharging our arsenal of freedom, building more, building faster, opening up the Pentagon, ripping through the Pentagon bureaucracy, to force industry to move faster,” he continued. “So our stockpiles are strong, and it will only get stronger in the future.”
Brennan answered, “There is a crisis with those stockpiles right now in private industry,” which prompted backlash from Hegseth.
“That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle!” he insisted, to which Brennan noted Hegseth has testified in front of Congress to such a crisis.
This year Hegseth testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee following a $15 billion request from the Pentagon. He insisted it could be “months and years” before the U.S. replenished its own military stockpile due to the prolonged war in Iran. Hegseth has denied that claim before and after the testimony.
“Ultimately our stockpiles are great and they only get stronger because of the way this president has – ” he also said, to which she shot back: “You testified under oath that it would take years to rebuild those stockpiles.”
“You don’t have to read back to me what I testified,” he said. “I speculated some munitions take more time than others. We’ve got lots of them, we’re building more than ever before. The Biden administration gave away hundreds of billions to Ukraine. And so President Trump had to refill, and he has, and we have, in real time.”
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