Senator Kelly says Pete Hegseth is ‘totally disqualified’ after being criticized for displaying medals

Appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling him incompetent and saying he only wants to please President Donald Trump.

The comments came after Hegseth asked the Navy secretary to review Kelly’s comments in a video to troops for “potentially illegal conduct,” according to a memo posted on social media by the Pentagon.

The Arizona senator was one of six Democrats who appeared in a video last week aimed at military members.

“Threats to our Constitution come not only from abroad, but from right here, at home. Our laws are clear. Illegal orders can be rejected,” the group stated. “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

The Defense Department said Monday it is launching a “comprehensive review” of Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, citing “serious allegations of misconduct.”

Meanwhile, Kelly told Kimmel that the president and his administration’s reaction is sowing fear, calling it an example of “how democracies die.”

“It’s right out of the playbook, you know, the playbook of authoritarianism. That’s what they do. They try to suppress speech,” Kelly said. “Each of us has First Amendment speech rights, and I think the president is infringing on them and he’s sending, he’s sending a pretty strong message. You don’t want to cross him, and your loyalty should be to him. It shouldn’t. It should always be to the Constitution.”

Kelly said Hegseth is “totally unqualified” for the job and “just wants to please the president.”

“He can prosecute me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the law in the military, which is a little crazy, because we recite something in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and he will prosecute me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Kelly said. “It’s so ridiculous it’s almost like you couldn’t make this s— up.”

Kelly also told Kimmel how she discovered Trump first reacted to the video with the post, detailing that he was with Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., when a staffer interrupted his briefing and slipped him a piece of paper.

“Then someone comes in the middle of our report, slides his piece of paper and I look at him and says ‘the president is calling for your execution’… to her, to Elissa, then she looks at me, gets up and leaves,” Kelly said. “About five minutes later, she comes back, looks at me and says, ‘Well, he’s calling for your execution, too.’ So I’m not off the hook.”

Hegseth attacked the Arizona senator earlier this week, accusing him of improperly wearing his military medals and calling the video aimed at troops in which Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers were on a “politically motivated influence operation.”

“So, ‘Captain’ Kelly, your sedition video didn’t just intentionally undermine good order. & discipline… but you can’t even show your uniform properly,” Hegseth said in a post shared on X on Tuesday.

Hegseth’s post was in response to Kelly’s statement Monday about the alleged Pentagon review, which included a photo of his military medals.

“Your medals are disordered & inverted rows. “When you are called to active duty, it will start with a uniform inspection,” Hegseth added.

“The military already has clear procedures for handling illegal orders. It does not need political actors to inject doubt into an already clear chain of command,” Hegseth said Tuesday.

All military officers who have retired after 20 years of service can be recalled to active duty and, if found to have engaged in misconduct, are subject to military proceedings, potentially a court-martial.

Kelly served for 25 years in the Navy and NASA, retiring in 2011.

The code referenced by the Department of Defense could subject Kelly to “administrative action,” which could include a reduction in rank and a reduction in his pension entitlement.

“Our democracy doesn’t work like that and we can’t go down that slippery slope,” Kelly said.