Pete Hegseth failed to inform President Trump of his decision to halt military aid to Ukraine, according to reports.
The White House said Trump retained “full confidence” in his defence secretary after the Pentagon suspended a crucial delivery of weapons to Ukraine, a decision that allegedly blindsided the president.
The reports, which CNN attributed to five anonymous sources, come hours after Trump announced that he was considering sending another battery of Patriot air defences.
Asked on Tuesday who had authorised the weapons embargo, Trump appeared unwilling to be drawn. “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” he said.
Hegseth, 45, previously shared details about upcoming US strikes on Houthis in Yemen on a Signal chat that included the editor of the Atlantic magazine.
In a rebuke to Hegseth’s authority and a notable hardening of his rhetoric over Russia’s reluctance to end the war in Ukraine, Trump accused President Putin on Tuesday of talking “bullshit”.
The US president said he was “very strongly” considering sanctions on Russia, hinting at his support for a package of tariffs drawn up by senators that would target countries that continue to import Russian oil and gas, such as China and India.
“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, [if] you want to know the truth,” he said. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Hegseth was ordered to resume weapons deliveries to Ukraine
AARON SCHWARTZ/CNP/SPLASH
According to CNN, Trump was not informed of the decision made by Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy, to suspend deliveries to Ukraine of Patriot interceptors, Stinger surface-to-air missiles and AIM air-to-air missiles, all of which are used to shoot down Russian missiles and drones.
Colby is a long-standing critic of US aid to Ukraine. This year, he launched a review of the Aukus defence treaty, throwing the UK and Australia’s plans to jointly build nuclear-powered submarines with the US into doubt.
After learning of the freeze, Trump ordered Hegseth to reverse his decision and resume deliveries of weapons to Ukraine. He authorised the delivery of ten Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, according to Axios.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told CNN that Trump had “made the decision to continue providing defensive weapons to Ukraine to help stop the killing in this brutal war”, adding that “the president has full confidence in the secretary of defence”.
Patriot missile defence systems are crucial for Ukraine as they are capable of intercepting Russian missiles
JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Trump is also looking at sending another Patriot air defence system to Ukraine either from the US or from an ally, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Ukraine is believed to have seven Patriot batteries left — but air defence missiles are running out and US arms companies are struggling to keep up with worldwide demand. As well as supporting Ukraine, the US has used Patriot air defences to repel Iranian missile attacks on Israel and American airbases in the Middle East. Taiwan is also due to receive a large order of Patriot interceptors amid tensions with China.
Much of the military aid bound for Ukraine was already in Poland when the Pentagon confirmed it was freezing weapons deliveries, apparently due to dwindling US stockpiles.
President Zelensky of Ukraine in front of a Patriot air defence system last year
JENS BÜTTNER /GETTY IMAGES
After the freeze, Trump spoke with Putin and President Zelensky of Ukraine, appearing to alter his position after hearing the arguments of the two leaders.
On Tuesday, he suggested the US would ramp up production of weapons.
“We make the best military equipment by far … That’s why everybody wants to buy our equipment and that’s why we’re going to step up these contractors now that make it,” Trump said during a meeting with cabinet officials at the White House.
“They’re brilliant, but they make it too slow and we have to step them up and let them make it at a much higher rate.”
Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon press secretary, said: “It is the job of the secretary of defence to make military recommendations to the commander-in-chief [Trump]. Secretary Hegseth provided a framework for the president to evaluate military aid shipments and assess existing stockpiles. This effort was co-ordinated across government. The department will continue to give the president robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end and putting America first.”