WASHINGTON ― Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got into a heated exchange Tuesday about U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Pacific Ocean, as well as a highly unusual probe Hegseth has ordered into a video Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers made reminding service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders.
The back-and-forth occurred at a classified, closed-door meeting of the entire U.S. Senate. Kelly, who was seated just feet away and directly in front of Hegseth, asked the defense secretary about the U.S. military operations near Venezuela, according to a source familiar with the exchange. Hegseth responded by referencing the video the senator had recorded last month that is under investigation by the Pentagon.
Kelly then interrupted Hegseth, urging him to stay on topic and noting that in 2016, Hegseth had made similar comments warning about Trump issuing unlawful orders.
“I politely reminded him that, in 2016, he was very eloquent in his position about the same exact thing, right?” Kelly said afterward in an interview with HuffPost.
“He’s really big into the performance,” the senator added, noting that Hegseth never responded to his 2016 callback. “You know, even in the [secure room for classified briefings], he wants to perform. He doesn’t want to answer questions about these strikes on boats in Venezuela.”
