The panel on CNN's "NewsNight with Abby Phillip" was shocked when they learned that President Donald Trump's Department of Defense kept him in the dark when they halted a shipment of weapons destined for Ukraine last week.
CNN reported that DoD Secretary Pete Hegseth did not tell Trump about his plans to halt the weapons shipment, citing five anonymous sources. During the press availability portion of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he had nothing to do with the decision, which left the panel on NewsNight wondering who is making decisions within the federal government.
"Trump obviously took the reins of it after the fact, but the fact that a decision of this magnitude was made and he wasn't even aware of it is stunning," host Abby Phillip said.
Shortly after the pause, Trump ordered Hegseth to ship munitions like interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, CNN reported. The weapons have been effective at combating drone attacks from Russia.
However, the episode also raises larger questions about the chain of command within the White House, said Elise Labott, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"This could be the moment where they say they have all the confidence in the world [in Hegseth], but he doesn't," Labott said. "And it's pretty clear that anytime there is some kind of national security crisis or emergency, Hegseth is behind it."
"This guy didn't have a lot of experience coming in, and he thought this would be okay because it is in line with President Trump's America First policies, and that's the larger problem," Labott continued.
You can watch the exchange below or click the link right here.
