WASHINGTON, D.C. (KGUN) — This morning, Senator Mark Kelly was among the Senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) to question Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The session combined technical budget scrutiny with accountability questions.
The hearing was a Senate Armed Services Committee oversight session focused on the Defense Department’s priorities, readiness and budgeting. Senators questioned Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine about the department’s budget request (including roughly $71 billion for the nuclear triad and NC3), efforts to modernize the nuclear deterrent and command-and-control systems, the resilience of the defense industrial base and munitions production, and measures taken to minimize casualties during Operation Epic Fury.
Kelly sharply challenged Hegseth over the pace and cost of U.S. munitions use in the Middle East and what Kelly called an alarming rhetoric from the Pentagon. Kelly pressed Hegseth about massive expenditures of high-end weapons — citing public claims that more than 13,000 targets had been struck and asking how long it will take to replenish expensive interceptors and missiles. Hegseth and other witnesses pointed to multibillion-dollar plans to expand production — including figures Hegseth described as roughly $238 billion for long‑range fires plus about $40 billion for hypersonics, bringing munitions needs closer to $330 billion — but declined to give a single, specific timeline, saying replacement timelines “depend on the weapon system” and could range from months to years as new plants are built.
Kelly also demanded clarity about Hegseth’s public comments, pressing him to explain whether his March remark — “we will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies” — meant the department was condoning actions that could violate the law of war. Hegseth replied, “We fight to win, and we follow the law,” but did not explicitly disavow the earlier phrasing. After Hegseth’s answer, Kelly exploded: “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,” a blistering rebuke that underscored senators’ broader concerns over unclear strategic goals, the economic costs borne by Americans and whether current Pentagon leadership has provided adequate transparency about how and why U.S. forces are employing scarce, expensive munitions. Hegseth responded, "It makes it clear to our enemies, Senator."
Kelly then pressed on the scale and specifics of the department’s $1.535 trillion budget during a second round of questioning, demanding to know where the massive increase in defense spending would be allocated and whether detailed tradeoffs had been worked out in advance. Kelly flagged headline items and costly new initiatives — including the White House-backed “Golden Dome” air- and missile‑defense concept — and warned that space‑based interceptors face hard physics that favor offense over defense. He challenged Hegseth on how long it would take to replace expended munitions and whether the department had a concrete, weapon‑by‑weapon plan that justified the overall price tag.
Hegseth defended the request as the product of a rigorous, department‑wide process and framed it as a necessary “generational commitment,” itemizing major allocations — roughly $65 billion for shipbuilding, $120 billion for the defense industrial base, $331 billion for munitions, $44 billion for quality‑of‑life programs and $71 billion for the nuclear deterrent — while blaming prior under-investment.
Kelly pushed back, urging the Pentagon to reassess certain programs and prioritize low‑cost munitions and platform‑specific capabilities for Special Operations and A2/AD penetration, saying some proposed systems “we either don't need or it's not going to work.”
Just yesterday, Hegseth faced questions about Iran in his first congressional appearance since the war began.
While Republicans focused on the details of military budgeting and voiced support for the Iran operation, Democrats grilled Hegseth about the ballooning costs of the war.
Backstory
There's a heated history between the two. The dispute began after Sen. Mark Kelly participated in a video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders. Hegseth publicly condemned the video, saying Kelly’s statements undermined military discipline, and issued a formal letter of censure that could lead to a review of Kelly’s retired rank and a reduction in his retirement pay.
In December, Kelly accused president Donald Trump of using intimidation to silence critics, called for investigations into Department of Defense actions, and vowed not to be deterred after what he described as death threats and an effort to trigger a court‑martial by tweet.
In January, Kelly then filed a federal lawsuit accusing Hegseth and the Defense Department of unconstitutional retaliation and asking a court to block any efforts to demote him or cut his pension. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Pentagon from carrying out punitive steps while the legal fight proceeded, and the Department (under Hegseth) moved to appeal that order — prolonging the courtroom dispute.
The spat has spilled into the public sphere: Kelly has publicly criticized Hegseth’s qualifications and actions, supporters have staged visible shows of solidarity (including a billboard in Tucson), and both sides have continued legal and political maneuvering — turning what began as disagreement over speech and military norms into an ongoing litigation and political confrontation.
In February, a Washington, D.C., federal grand jury declined to indict Senators Kelly, Slotkin and the four other Democratic lawmakers in connection with the video that urged service members to refuse "illegal orders," according to multiple news reports. Senators Kelly and Slotkin accused President Donald Trump and his allies of weaponizing the justice system to silence critics, saying a grand jury “refused” to indict them.
