Senate GOP grows uneasy as Pentagon’s Kelly investigation escalates

Senate Republicans are growing increasingly uneasy with the Pentagon’s investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced his office is escalating its probe into him.

The Defense Department announced Monday the review of Kelly has risen to an “official Command Investigation,” intensifying the feud between the two sides over Kelly’s role in a video he and other congressional Democrats made to remind service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders.

The news has also given a number of Republicans pause as they question whether this is a prudent decision by the Pentagon against one of their colleagues.

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said.

Paul was one of five Senate GOP members who expressed reservations about the Hegseth-led investigation into Kelly, a retired Navy captain.

Kelly has been under fire by the administration for nearly a month after he, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Democratic Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) and Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) appeared in the video that set off the series of comments.

Trump also called for the execution of the half-dozen lawmakers — a remark he walked back.

Days after the Democrats released the joint video, the Defense Department said it received “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly and that it kicked off a “thorough review” of the allegations. Hegseth ordered the Navy to finish the review and submit it to the Defense Department by Dec. 10.

The Navy submitted the report on potential punishments against Kelly to the department’s Office of General Counsel last week. The content and the scope of the report are unclear.

What isn’t being walked back is the probe, which some Senate Republicans believe likely does not have merit.

“I’m not,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said when asked whether she is comfortable with the expansion of the probe. “He is protected by the speech and debate clause.”

Hegseth appeared Tuesday on Capitol Hill alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio to brief lawmakers on the administration’s targeting of boats near Venezuela. Hegseth and Kelly got into a “long back-and-forth” during the briefing, according to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

According to one Senate Republican, the spat started with a reasonable question on Kelly’s end but eventually turned into a protracted discussion with GOP members complaining he was “filibustering” during a classified briefing when other attendees had questions.

Kelly said Hegseth brought up “talking points” about the video when he was asking the Pentagon chief about the strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

“I think, with regards to me, [Hegseth] kind of walked in there with a little speech that he wanted to give,” Kelly said after the briefing, adding, “I’m not going to waste my colleagues’ time with something that is specific to me.”

Kelly told reporters following the briefing the Pentagon still has not reached out to him about the investigation and argued the department is targeting him “for something I said that was lawful.”

“This is all a bunch of bulls‑‑‑, and the reason why, I think, is because this is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members, government employees: Do not speak out against this president, or there will be consequences,” he said.

Paul Fishman, Kelly’s lawyer, warned that action by the Pentagon against the Democrat “would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power.”

“If the executive branch were to move forward in any forum — criminal, disciplinary, or administrative — we will take all appropriate legal action on Senator Kelly’s behalf to halt the Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach,” Fishman wrote.

When reached for comment, the Pentagon said it did not have further remarks and referred The Hill to Monday’s statement.

Senate GOP members are concerned Hegseth’s actions are setting a precedent that could boomerang on Republicans.

“These members are going to be here after this administration’s gone. We’re creating a precedent that everybody should expect could be used against them,” one GOP senator told The Hill.

“Yeah — he made a video,” they continued. “But I don’t think it rises to the level that they’re trying to make it. It really seems to me like vindictive prosecutions, and that’s a bad message to send to the American people.”

Kelly is the only one of the six lawmakers who falls under the Defense Department’s purview. Four of the others are former military members but are not retired like Kelly is. Slotkin is an ex-CIA official.

Even some Republicans who are more ardent supporters of the president indicated they have questions about whether the investigation is warranted.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters he didn’t believe taking part in the video was “very wise” on Kelly’s part.

“But I don’t know if it broke any laws,” he added.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a retired Marine, similarly criticized Kelly’s participation. Nevertheless, he cautioned he believes the investigation is not a “good use of the Pentagon’s time.”

“While Senator Sullivan believes the message in the video was irresponsible and politically driven, he does not believe it is a good use of the Pentagon’s time to investigate Senator Kelly — who served honorably in the Navy — under the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice], particularly given that the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause would likely take precedence over any UCMJ provision,” a spokesperson for Sullivan said in a statement.

“Such an investigation has the potential to turn into a major distraction for our military,” they continued. “After four years of Biden’s woke military, the Department of War needs to stay laser focused on lethality and war fighting.”

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