Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responds to a reporter's question before the start of a meeting with visiting Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles at the Pentagon, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta).
Just three days after a majority of federal appellate judges signaled that one Pete Hegseth campaign to punish Sen. Mark Kelly will hit a brick wall, the secretary of defense declared that "legal counsel will review" the Arizona Democrat afresh for saying something the public already knows about the Iran war and U.S. weapons stockpiles.
Kelly appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation" and said Sunday, on the heels of a classified briefing, that it was "shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines" — and that it would take "years" to replenish certain stockpiles, something Hegseth himself acknowledged publicly in a Q&A with Kelly. A tussle on X followed nonetheless, with Hegseth mockingly referring to Kelly as "Captain" and accusing him of "blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received."
"Did he violate his oath … again?" Hegseth wondered aloud. "@DeptofWar legal counsel will review."
It didn't take long for Kelly to respond.
"We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take 'years' to replenish some of these stockpiles. That's not classified, it's a quote from you," the senator said. "This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven't explained to the American people what the goal is."
Kelly also shared a video of Hegseth's answers to his questions at the public hearing, including an admission that depending on the weapons system it would take "years" to reach two to four times "what we have today."
We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take "years" to replenish some of these stockpiles. That's not classified, it's a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven't explained to the American… https://t.co/q3wX9AjRzO pic.twitter.com/5q7Gg81Xtg
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) May 11, 2026
The threat of a new probe comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit appears likely to affirm that Hegseth's disciplinary action against Kelly for telling service members they "can refuse illegal orders" will fail.
President Donald Trump accused Kelly and five other Democrats — Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. — of engaging in "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" when they appeared in a video in November and condemned lethal military strikes on alleged drug smugglers' boats in international waters.
The Trump administration not only accused Kelly of "undermin[ing] the chain of command," "counsel[ing] disobedience," and engaging in "conduct unbecoming an officer" warranting a reduction in his retirement rank and pay grade, but U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro also launched a criminal investigation into the retired Navy captain and his fellow members of the so-called "Seditious Six." That ended in grand jury no-bills.
From there, Kelly succeeded in blocking the disciplinary action with a civil lawsuit — and on Thursday, a three-judge panel strongly suggested it would stay that way.
U.S. Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard, a Barack Obama appointee, repeatedly pointed out that the statement "you have a duty to disobey unlawful orders" is "something that is taught at Annapolis to every cadet[.]"
The DOJ countered that proof of Kelly's "specific intent to influence active duty service members" was Hegseth's determination that by "refuse illegal orders," Kelly really meant "disobey lawful orders."
"Yes, that is the Secretary's inference. That is what we are arguing," the DOJ confirmed.
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