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In his first public confrontation with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth since Hegseth tried to demote him in retirement, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly didn’t bring up the brouhaha that originally placed him at odds with the Pentagon. But he did lambast Hegseth, a former Fox News host, as being unfit for his lofty position.
So, in essence, a different demotion beef.
The pair sparred on Thursday as Hegseth testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee as the Pentagon requests an additional $1.5 trillion from Congress after starting a war with Iran.
During the nearly four-hour heated hearing, Kelly grilled Hegseth about the war in Iran and comments Hegseth made in March vowing “no quarter, no mercy” for enemies while discussing military operations. Kelly asked Hegseth if he stood by that statement by reading the definition of “no quarter,” which means to refuse to take prisoners by killing enemy combatants even if they attempt to surrender.
That, of course, is considered a war crime under international law, and Kelly said as much in a March letter to Hegseth. Instead of clarifying his “no quarter” comment Thursday, Hegseth responded, “We have untied the hands of our war fighters. We fight to win, and we follow the law.”
“OK, so you’re not clarifying, so you stand by that statement,” Kelly replied, adding, “The things you say matter and your response here, right now, makes it clear to the American people exactly why you are not right for this job.”
Kelly did not vote to confirm Hegseth when he was first nominated last year, and the two have been at high-profile odds since November, when Kelly and several other lawmakers posted a video calling on members of the military not to follow “unlawful orders.” President Donald Trump said the comments were “punishable by DEATH,” and Hegseth quickly retaliated by attempting to demote Kelly, who is a retired Navy captain. Kelly sued, and in February, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the department’s attempt to demote him. The conflict has boosted Kelly’s fundraising and set him up nicely for a potential presidential run in 2028.
That didn’t come up during Hegseth’s testimony, though a lot of other stuff did. Hegseth clashed with Democrats and some Republicans over the war in Iran, the demotion or forced retirement of top generals — many of whom were women or minorities — and the U.S.’s faltering support of Ukraine.
During his six-minute questioning of Hegseth, Kelly asked how long it will take the military to replace the thousands of munitions that have been used to strike more than 13,000 targets in Iran since the start of the war. Kelly pointed to “video after video” the department has released of “things blowing up,” but asked how much those strikes will cost Americans and what it actually achieves, noting that “we can’t make these weapons overnight.”
“We’re all worried about how our stockpiles would hold up in a conflict against China,” Kelly said. “Many of these strikes use our best weapons, and we’re using a lot of them.”
Hegseth responded that it’d take “months, years,” to replace them, depending on the munitions, and blamed the weapons sent to Ukraine by the Biden administration. He also initially said it would cost the Department of Defense $53 billion to replace the weapons used in airstrikes on Iran, but he later upped the number to $330 billion in munitions. (Inflation must work fast.)
Hegseth has signaled a general happiness with what he has called the success of the war in Iran, saying the U.S. needs to prevent the country from having a nuclear warhead. Kelly wasn’t convinced that anything has been all that successful, noting that despite the onslaught of bombs, the situation is arguably worse than it was before.
“This war is stuck. The Strait of Hormuz is closed. The Iranian regime is in place. The nuclear material is still in their hands,” Kelly said. “Americans are being crushed by higher costs, and it’s not clear to them at all what the goal of this war is.”
