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.

Defense secretary’s move sparked internal ‘scramble’ to explain withholding to Congress and the Ukrainian government, which had been relying on arms shipment to combat Russian assaults