Sen. Mark Kelly said that a recent strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean “seems to” constitute a war crime.
Before he was a senator, the Democratic congressman from Arizona served as a Navy pilot for over two decades. During a stop by CNN‘s “State of the Union,” he expressed concern over a Washington Post report that claimed a double-tap strike carried out on Sept. 2 was a direct result of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth‘s order to “kill them all.”
“If what has been reported is accurate, I’ve got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over,” he said. “I have so much respect for people in the United States Navy…They should be revered, and that’s why I hope what I’ve heard about this strike is not accurate.”
Kelly recently ran afoul of the Trump administration for his part in a video reminding members of the military that they can disregard unlawful orders. On Sunday, he said that he would have refused the order to circle back and strike survivors of the first attack.
“I have sunk two ships,” he said. “I never, in that situation, questioned whether those strikes were legal. We were given an order to do this. It was a time of war…Going after survivors in the water, that is clearly not lawful.”
Mark Kelly says Pete Hegseth's reported double tap strike on a boat "seems to" be a war crime, and adds, "if what has been reported is accurate, I've got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over. We are not… pic.twitter.com/YwkNxLIfSN
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 30, 2025
Hegseth called the Post’s report “fake news” on Friday, writing on X that the outlet was trying to “discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.”
“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” he wrote.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
On CNN, Kelly called Hegseth the “least qualified” person to ever hold his Cabinet position.
“We have a president who doesn’t understand the Constitution, who installed an unqualified secretary of defense. I cannot think of a secretary of defense in the history of our country who is less qualified than Pete Hegseth. He should not be in this position,” he said. “He should have been fired after Signalgate. Now, he should be fired for this.”
Mark Kelly: "We have a president who doesn't understand the Constitution, who installed an unqualified secretary of defense. I cannot think of a secretary of defense in the history of our country that is less qualified than Pete Hegseth. He should've been fired after… pic.twitter.com/ky8o5K6lWF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 30, 2025
