He should be secretary of defense.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth apparently thinks that Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona is in the wrong job. Kelly was one of six Democratic legislators who released a video reminding the officers and enlisted people of the U.S. military that they are bound by their oaths to disobey illegal orders. Now Hegseth wants to recall Kelly, a decorated combat veteran and former astronaut, back to active duty in the Navy so that Kelly can be court-martialed for what Hegseth sees as riling up the troops against the commander in chief.
Hegseth has a point: Maybe Kelly shouldn’t be in Congress. But the secretary is wrong about putting the senator back in the naval service. In a more sensible and serious world (and, yes, I know this is not the one we live in right now), Hegseth would be fired—and Kelly would take Hegseth’s job as secretary of defense.
Kelly is at least as qualified to lead the Pentagon as other recent appointees, and would probably be an easy addition to any future Democratic administration’s shopping list for senior defense or national-security roles. (He was also shortlisted to be Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024.) A Navy pilot, Kelly flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. He has a uniform heavy with awards, including medals with the combat “V,” a special addition that denotes valor and heroism. After the senator posted a picture of those medals yesterday on social media, Hegseth, one of the most eager and petty trolls in an administration full of them, immediately took to social media and claimed that they were in the wrong order. He also warned “Captain” Kelly—putting Kelly’s rank in scare quotes—that he will have to submit to a uniform inspection once he’s recalled.
After his combat service, Kelly joined the astronaut corps, and piloted or commanded multiple Space Shuttle missions. (His twin brother, Scott, also became an astronaut.) In 2011, he retired—not to kick back and get rich, but to help his wife, the former member of Congress Gabby Giffords, who had been nearly killed in a shooting earlier that year.
