Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., sharply criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, saying Hegseth is “totally unqualified” for his role and is focused on pleasing President Donald Trump rather than defending the Constitution.
Kelly’s remarks came after Hegseth asked the Navy secretary to review the senator’s participation in a recent video to service members for “potentially unlawful conduct,” according to a Pentagon memo shared on social media.
Kelly was one of six Democratic lawmakers featured in a video last week addressed to military personnel, reminding them that they are not obligated to follow illegal orders.
“The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here right at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” the group said. “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
The video drew a fierce response. Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition and said they should face consequences. On X, Hegseth denounced Kelly over alleged “serious allegations of misconduct,” labeled the video “a politically motivated influence operation,” and raised the possibility of a court-martial.
On Monday, the Department of Defense announced it was initiating a “thorough review” into Kelly’s conduct, citing “serious allegations of misconduct.”
Speaking to Kimmel, Kelly said the administration’s reaction is meant to intimidate critics and represents “how democracies die.”
“It is right out of the playbook, you know, the playbook of authoritarianism. That’s what they do. They try to suppress speech,” Kelly said. “Every one of us has First Amendment speech rights, and I think the president is infringing on those and he is sending, he is sending a pretty strong message. You do not want to cross him, and your loyalty should be to him. It should not. It should always be to the Constitution.”
Kelly went on to say that Hegseth is “totally unqualified” for his position and claimed “he just wants to please the president.”
“He can go after me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is law in the military, which is kind of wild, because we recited something in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and he’s going to prosecute me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Kelly said. “It is so ridiculous, it’s almost like you can’t make this s— up.”
Kelly also recounted how he and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., first learned of Trump’s response to the video. He said they were in a briefing when a staffer slipped Slotkin a piece of paper.
“So somebody comes in in the middle of our brief, slips her piece of paper and I take a look at the piece of paper, and it says, ‘The president is calling for your execution’ — to her, to Elissa, so she, she looks at me, she gets up, she walks out,” Kelly said. “About five minutes later, she comes back in, looks at me and says, ‘Well, he’s calling for your execution too.’ So I wasn’t off the hook.”
Earlier this week, Hegseth escalated his criticism by attacking Kelly over how his military medals were displayed in a photo that accompanied the senator’s statement responding to the Pentagon’s review.
“So ‘Captain’ Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order & discipline…but you can’t even display your uniform properly,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X on Tuesday, claiming that Kelly’s medals were “out of order & rows reversed.” He added, “When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection.”
Hegseth also argued that political messages like the Democrats’ video undermine established processes within the armed forces. “The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command,” he said on Tuesday.
Under military rules, retired officers who served at least 20 years can be recalled to active duty and, if found to have committed misconduct, can be prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including via court-martial.
Kelly, who served 25 years in the Navy and at NASA before retiring in 2011, could face an “administrative measure” under the code referenced by the Defense Department, which might include a reduction in rank and a corresponding cut to his pension.
“That is not how our democracy works, and we cannot go down that slippery slope,” Kelly said.
