Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat, criticized Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday during MS NOW The Briefing. Kelly said Hegseth has treated service members poorly through public remarks that dwell on death and strike totals.

Kelly said academy graduates learn to obey statute when it clashes with a command. He noted Hegseth boasting of ever higher target counts after a Tomahawk struck a school and killed more than one hundred Iranian girls. Kelly said the armed forces should show restraint, values, and professionalism, and that Hegseth on camera shows the reverse.