Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, according to five sources familiar with the matter, setting off a scramble inside the administration to understand why the halt was implemented and explain it to Congress and the Ukrainian government.

A recent CNN report revealed that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before deciding to temporarily suspend certain arms shipments to Ukraine. The move caught top officials by surprise,