Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) stepped up his war of words against War Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling him a “12-year-old playing army,” during a press conference on Monday.
Kelly has come under scrutiny from the Trump administration in recent weeks after Hegseth ordered the Navy to investigate his role in a video from Democratic veteran lawmakers that urged servicemembers to refuse unspecified illegal orders. Kelly repudiated the inquiry to reporters on Monday, saying President Donald Trump has a “play” of “bullying his opponents into silence” and railing against Hegseth as “unqualified.”
“This guy is so unqualified for the job. I mean, think about this. He runs around on a stage, talking about lethality and warrior ethos and killing people,” Kelly said. We have the most competent, capable military this planet has ever seen by far. That’s not the message that needs to come from the secretary of defense.” Kelly said.
Kelly, a retired Navy captain, said Hegseth should be talking about “mission and accountability” and making sure members of the military are trained and equipped “to do really hard jobs.”
“Instead, he runs around on a stage like he’s a 12-year-old playing army. And it is ridiculous. It is embarrassing, and I can’t imagine what our allies think of looking at that guy in this job, one of the most important jobs in our country,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s video on refusing illegal orders came just days before reports that the U.S. military, under Hegseth’s orders, killed survivors of a strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean. The White House on Monday, however, said Adm. Mitch Bradley gave that order and was “well within his authority in the law” to have the survivors killed in the water.
Hegseth has referred to the six lawmakers who released the video as the “Seditious Six,” following a Truth Social post from Trump, in which he wrote “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
“The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false. Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.’ Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger,” Hegseth wrote in an X post.
Announcing the department’s review of Kelly’s actions, Hegseth said Kelly is “still subject to UCMJ—and he knows that.”
“Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately,” Hegseth said
TRUMP ACCUSED DEMOCRATS OF SEDITION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Kelly has been fighting the review from the War Department, blasting Hegseth in the press throughout the holiday week.
“This is the secretary of defense. This is not a serious person. He should have been fired after Signalgate and then every single day after that,” Kelly said on Monday.
The Pentagon did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.