Vance privately questions whether Hegseth is lying to Trump about the Iran war
The Atlantic is reporting that JD Vance has repeatedly raised concerns in closed-door meetings that Pete Hegseth has been feeding Trump a falsely rosy picture of the Iran war — specifically, that Hegseth has been understating the catastrophic depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles. People close to Vance believe Hegseth’s briefings have been “so positive as to be misleading.” One administration official put it more directly: “Pete is not speaking truth to the president. As a result, the president is out there repeating misleading information.” (The New Republic)
The intelligence assessments appear to back Vance’s concern. Despite the bombing campaign, roughly half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers remain intact, and thousands of drones remain in its arsenal. Meanwhile, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that the U.S. has burned through more than half its prewar supply of four key munitions — with some stockpiles taking over four years to replenish. Trump told investors America’s weapons supply was “virtually unlimited.”
The gap between Hegseth’s briefings and reality has been hard to miss. In early March, he declared the U.S. would have “complete control of Iranian skies” within days and called it “uncontested airspace.” Iran subsequently shot down an F-15E and hit an A-10 attack aircraft. The Pentagon’s response was to lash out at any attempt to hold Hegseth accountable, with spokesman Sean Parnell calling the criticism “lies and propaganda.”
The structural explanation: Hegseth’s 8 a.m. briefings are timed for when Trump watches Fox News. As one former official told The Atlantic, he “strives to tell the president exactly what he wants to hear. I think that’s dangerous.”
Hegseth recently ousted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, replacing him with Gen. Christopher LaNeve — formerly Hegseth’s own military aide. In his role, George had been responsible for advising on munitions capabilities. Lawmakers from both parties heaped praise on George after the firing, which stunned many at the Pentagon.
The vice president of the United States privately questioning whether the defense secretary is lying to the president — during an active war, with missile stockpiles in freefall — is not a normal situation. It’s now public record.