All posts tagged "mark kelly"

Senator suggests Trump's Oval Office adorned with fake gold from Hobby Lobby

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was clear on Friday that President Donald Trump's design aesthetic was not his style.

In an interview with TMZ, the Trump antagonist and Senate Armed Services Committee member argued that Trump's vision for the White House wasn't exactly aligned with how he viewed it.

"I think every president is going to leave their mark, and some choose policy and some choose paint," Kelly said. "He seems to be like a paint guy, he likes gold paint. I don't think that's real gold. I think you buy that stuff from Hobby Lobby and you paint it gold."

He also argued that Trump's lack of focus on affordability and the economy has baffled voters struggling to make ends meet.

"But this is serious. I've got constituents who can't afford to put gas in their car to go to work," Kelly explained. "I got a text the other day from a mom who is trying to take her kid to cancer treatment and can't afford the gas — it's a 300-mile round trip and she doesn't know what she's going to do. And this president is focused on how many square feet of the Oval Office can be covered in gold crap and then an arch and a ballroom and all this other stuff that doesn't matter to the American people."

Kelly, who has not officially mentioned a run for president and has previously said he was "undecided" about a potential bid for 2028, said that a future president might not want that gold design in the Oval Office. He talked about how the Oval Office used to look "classy and normal" under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

"I imagine that anybody who replaces Donald Trump is going to immediately rip all that crap off the wall and restore some dignity to the office," Kelly said, adding that he even thinks a future Republican president would want to remove the gold decor.

"It's also not America. It's not who we are. That's what a palace would look like," Kelly said.

Senator Mark Kelly tells @jacob_wass that America's next president has their work cut out for them cleaning up Donald Trump's mess ... but we're not talkin' policy, we're talking gold! https://t.co/0xulZ3ajZY pic.twitter.com/KxTN2e6rZv
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 1, 2026

Republicans get stark warning Trump-backed voting bill will blow up in their faces

WASHINGTON — Democrats have continued to push back on the SAVE Act while Republicans were pushing for what President Donald Trump has called the number one GOP priority, and now the Senate plans to continue debating the controversial bill all weekend.

If passed into law, the Republican-backed legislation would require U.S. citizens to provide voter ID at the ballot box, and mail-in votes would be massively hindered. But some lawmakers have expressed concern that this could ultimately backfire on Republicans, especially ahead of the midterms and 2028 presidential election.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) told Raw Story in an exclusive interview that the SAVE Act would greatly impact seniors and disenfranchise them — and that the legislation wasn't about making sure citizens can vote, but instead ensuring that Trump can have federal control of upcoming elections.

"Let's say you're like a senior and you don't have a passport anymore, you don't travel anymore. Maybe you never had a passport, and you can't find your birth certificate. What do you do?" Kelly said.

"I think they're OK with people not voting anymore," Kelly said. "And you can go through a long list of, I mean, we all have to re-register. We all have to get these, you know, these documents. And what if somebody doesn't want a passport? They don't, they don't travel, or they can't afford to pay for the passport. What happens to them? They get disenfranchised."

Kelly said people don't always have access to their birth certificate, creating another layer of problems for voters if the legislation passes.

"The hospital I was born in, with my birth certificate, mine comes from the hospital. That place is closed," Kelly said. "What would I do if I didn't have a passport?

"Let's say I wasn't, you know, a U.S. senator, and I'm like, OK, what do I do? Who do I contact? So they're trying to make this really, really hard for people to vote," Kelly said. "And then, you know, I think [Sen. Eric] Schmidt is going to add this amendment to try to eliminate vote by mail — 80 percent of Arizonans vote by mail. In some states, 100 percent of people vote by mail; that's the only option. And it is equally popular in Arizona with Republicans. I think we are, we're trying to save them from themselves, because this will disenfranchise possibly millions of people."

The push for the GOP legislation comes as Trump has federal authorities investigate the 2020 election results in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Fulton County, Georgia.

"I think the president just can't accept that he lost an election despite having won two for president, and he still can't accept it," Kelly said. "It's a combination of that and I think it's, he wants to try to get control over the voting infrastructure, leading up to the 2026 and 2028 elections. I think that's what that's about."

"When you have 2,000 counties and 2,000 plus county recorders, it's really hard for somebody to steal an election," Kelly said. "So when you have one entity, it gets much easier to try to influence the outcome of an election.

Trump has even complained that GOP lawmakers could find it hard to win the midterms without this legislation.

"He said he wants Republicans to control the elections in 15 states," Kelly said. "I mean, that's what he said after nationalizing the elections. Like a couple of sentences later, this is months ago now, he says, 'Yeah, I want Republicans in charge of the elections in 15 states' is what he said. What states? I imagine mine is one of them. Georgia is probably one of them, probably, you know, the ones that have those battleground states for presidential elections, probably somebody should ask him, which 15 states are you talking about?

But Democrats haven't given up.

"This bill is a big deal," Kelly said. "I mean, we passed the Voting Rights legislation in the 1960s. And now it's gonna be up to us to protect us."

The decision will rest with senators.

"I think we're gonna, we're going to do our best, you know, to save voting rights to the American people," Kelly said. "This is not about voter ID. They throw around this polling data that voter ID has 80% approval. Yeah, that's voter ID like we have in Arizona. That's not what this is."

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Raw Story that Republicans weren't ready to give up on passing the SAVE Act despite mounting criticism from Democrats.

"We don't want to kill the bill," Johnson said. "This is how it's really supposed to work, OK, where if you had Democrats who are constructive, that'd be fine, but they're not. They want to kill the bill, OK, it's existential to them. So we've got Republicans, you know, we've got a broad spectrum. There are people who have issues with some of the reasonable restrictions on mail-in ballots. So how can we make them reasonable for them? So let's use this process to hone this piece of legislation so that at least we'll have Republican support."

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told Raw Story that despite Republican maneuvers to try to "fill the tree," a procedure where the Senate majority leader uses their role to "freeze" or control the amendment process, Democrats still were not convinced, and that they had another plan if that happened.

"Democrats feel strongly that it's an effort to disenfranchise eligible registered voters," Kaine said.

"The tree might get filled, but we can bring up privileged resolutions even if they fill the tree, as long as you're not in post, called up in the middle of anything," Kaine added.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who co-sponsored the bill, told Raw Story she stands by the legislation.

"And that is something I've thought about as we've teed up the Save Act, but I am a co-sponsor, and it's important. I believe that everybody who votes be a citizen and be able to prove it," Lummis said. "That's pretty simple. Now, if we get in the weeds and start telling every state what to do, then I get uncomfortable."

Lummis said it's unclear what could happen over the next 10 days, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) was expected to potentially delay its recess, according to reports.

"I think we're all a little curious," Lummis added.

'Train wreck': Senator fed-up as 'flailing' Trump admin can't keep its Iran story straight

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) pointed out on Wednesday that after he questioned National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, it appeared that the Trump administration still couldn't get its story straight on what prompted the Iran war.

The top Democrat and veteran spoke with CNN anchor Kasie Hunt after the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with Gabbard and several other senior intelligence officials, who were asked about global threats as the Trump administration has continued to send mixed messages about the military operation in the Middle East and its objectives.

Lawmakers pressed the administration members to clarify whether the Trump administration knew the pending economic fallout, including rising gas prices or the Iranian regime's move to close the vital shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz. They also wanted clarification over claims that Iran posed an "imminent threat," something the Trump administration has cited in the last several weeks.

Hunt asked Kelly if the Trump administration had underestimated how Iranians would respond to the military strikes.

"They're flailing. This has been a train wreck," Kelly said. "They have not been able to tell the American people, you know, why we are in this fight. You know, what is the strategic goal? What is the plan? What's the timeline? How do you get out of it? And today we were trying to figure out what did the president know and when did he know it? And was he briefed on something pretty basic, which was the Strait of Hormuz, whether or not the Iranians would try to shut it down. And we've gotten different answers from the White House."

Kelly also pointed out how the word "imminent" means something is about to happen, yet the Trump administration had gone back and forth, saying Iran was expecting to strike the United States and its allies in "the near future," which is not what the word "imminent" actually means.

"And I even got to the point I was trying to make this very simple for the DNI, for Tulsi Gabbard," Kelly said. "Was there a request for a brief, or did you offer a brief on the Strait of Hormuz? I didn't even ask her if it was given or what was in it. She would not even answer that question."

He explained that getting to the truth hasn't been a problem with just Gabbard, but also with other Trump cabinet members and White House insiders.

"And this is what happens when you put a lot of yes people in an administration where their number one priority is to please the commander in chief," Kelly added. "And when you do that, this is why this is a lot different than Donald Trump's first term with a lot of very professional people around him. This is what you get. You get a lot of non-answers, you get a lot of just trying to get around some pretty basic things."

‘Outrageous’: Top Dem marks wins in court but Trump still wants to hang him

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) would rather not be in the national spotlight because the President of the United States called for him to be hanged, but that doesn't mean he's not prepared to fight to the bitter end.

And this week, the only bitterness was emanating from the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Trump White House suffered major setbacks in its attempt to make an example out of Kelly and other veterans in Congress who cut a video calling on active-duty service members to refuse any unconstitutional orders from Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

That video prompted Trump to say the Democrats were guilty of “seditious behavior,” an offense he claimed was “punishable by DEATH!” He also shared calls from supporters for the Democrats to be hanged.

Hegseth threatened to court martial Kelly, then attempted to reduce his rank and pension.

In an exclusive interview with Raw Story, Arizona's senior senator opened up about the barrage of attacks he and other veterans of the military or intelligence services have endured as a result of such Trump administration assaults.

"This government doesn't want us speaking out against them," Kelly said, while riding the tram underneath the U.S. Senate.

"Such a fundamental American right that we all have is to criticize the government. They don't like criticism."

‘Rights are on the line’

There was a lot of criticism this week over Trump’s attempt to censure the Democratic veterans who spoke out.

On Tuesday, a D.C. grand jury threw out charges the administration sought to bring against Kelly and the five other Democrats who spoke out.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon sided with Kelly, blocking a planned Department of Defense punishment and scolding both the White House and Pentagon — “Horsefeathers!” he exclaimed — for "trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired servicemembers."

Kelly is a decorated U.S. Navy pilot and astronaut — which is partly why the personal attacks from the Commander-in-Chief have been so unsettling.

"What have you thought of..." Raw Story asked, before the senator finished the question.

"The president wanting to hang me?" Kelly said. "I take a little bit of offense to it, you know, and saying I should be executed. It's outrageous. I mean, he's the president."

On Thursday, Judge Leon ordered Kelly and the Pentagon to come back in 30 days with an update on the issue between them, even as his ruling barred Hegseth from punishing Kelly by reducing rank or retirement pay or by taking any other step.

"There's a process," Kelly said. "I filed a lawsuit against Pete Hegseth to, you know, stop that process.

"The real thing that matters is there are over two million retired veterans — veterans whose First Amendment rights are on the line with this case.

"Because if they can say that me — as somebody who left the military 15 years ago and is a retired service member — that I do not have freedom of speech rights, and I'm a U.S. senator, if they can take away my rank after 25 years and take away some of my retirement pension, they can do that to anybody.

“Much easier to do that to somebody else."

‘I didn’t ask for this’

The high-stakes fight with Trump and Hegseth has raised Kelly's profile, with appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in recent months.

Even with 2026 being a midterm elections year, there's lots of chatter about a Kelly presidential run in 2028. For now at least, he brushes that aside.

"I didn't ask for this," Kelly said. "I was just trying to send a really very simple, basic message that I felt needed to be said, and, you know, this is all Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth's doing."

While calling for an execution is about as personal as politics can get, at the end of the day, Kelly laughs Trump off.

"Every day he just says outrageous stuff," Kelly said.

Kelly is confident the courts will continue to rule his way, because of the strength of First Amendment protections.

"The law and the Constitution are on our side here," Kelly told Raw Story. "So, yeah, I mean, anything can happen, but I feel pretty good about it."

Pete Hegseth handed loss as GOP-appointed judge blocks move to reduce veteran Dem's rank

A judge stepped in Thursday to block the Pentagon's move to try and reduce Sen. Mark Kelly's (D-AZ) rank or censure him — a loss for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and major win for Kelly.

Federal Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., a Republican appointee, decided in favor of Kelly in the emergency action and in his decision — using multiple exclamation points — ruled that Kelly should have protections, CNN reported.

"He sees that Mark Kelly, a retired Naval officer and now a U.S. senator, is able to have First Amendment protections and that unfortunately the Trump administration has come in and tried to have some sort of censure or process for Mark Kelly that could hurt him as a former service member because of the things he has said publicly about the Trump administration and the military," CNN reporter Katelyn Polantz said.

Kelly last month had sued Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department over its push to punish him after he and five other congressional leaders made a video in November quoting current law, and reminding service members that the military has a responsibility to refuse illegal orders.

Leon shared his decision Thursday.

"Unfortunately for the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, no court has ever extended principles to retired service members that they want to do here, obedience and discipline if they believe someone has not been obedient in the military, much less has the administration done something to a retired service member serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military," Leon said. "This Court will not be the first to do so!"

"To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from our government and our Constitution demands they receive it!" Leon said.

Kelly avoided indictment from the Justice Department this week. The judge also added that he should not have to fear any criminal or administrative action.

"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees," Leon said.

Hegseth just sent 'a chilling message' to the military: legal expert

A legal expert Thursday warned that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a "chilling" message to the military in his recent attack on lawmakers who issued a video message warning service members not to obey unlawful orders.

MS NOW legal correspondent Lisa Rubin told anchor Katy Tur that Hegseth's move to threaten lawmakers behind the 90-second video telling service members, "our laws are clear — you can refuse illegal orders. … You must refuse illegal orders." Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), one of the lawmakers and military members in the video, has filed a federal lawsuit against Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and both departments, claiming constitutional violations after Hegseth has taunted Kelly and the other lawmakers with an investigation, among other potential punitive actions.

Tur asked Rubin if other veterans who disagree with the Trump administration's policies could voice their concerns or if they could be in trouble over speaking out.

"That's unclear, right, because on one hand, these particular members of Congress attract attention because of their visibility," Rubin said.

"They are not ordinary former members of the service. They are all members of the existing Congress," she added. "On the other hand, is the sort of action that the administration is either threatening or already carrying out against these members, certain to have a chilling effect. Absolutely. And perhaps you might one might argue that that is actually the intent that they don't want to prosecute, much less convict these folks so much as they want to send a message to former and active duty members across the country, speak out against us and what we are doing at your peril."

'Does anybody believe this guy?' Mark Kelly rips Stephen Miller on CNN

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) criticized White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller Tuesday after his comments about Venezuela and Greenland following the attack and capture of ousted president Nicolás Maduro.

Kelly, a veteran and Armed Services Committee member, was responding to questions from CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who wanted to know what Kelly made of Miller's comments Monday night and what potential plans the Trump administration has for the South American country.

"Does anybody believe this guy?" Kelly asked, responding to the comments from Miller, who, nearly 24 hours ago, got in a testy conversation with Tapper after the anchor started asking Miller if Venezuela should hold elections to select a new leader instead of handing the country over to one of Maduro's underlings.

"I mean, he obviously does not. They don't do not have a plan. They need to have a plan," Kelly said.

"Venezuela used to be a democracy, right. And we should be at this point making efforts to help them get back to a democracy, to have a democratically elected government running Venezuela," he added. "We do not want to be in the business of running this other country. And by the way, regime change generally has not worked out well for us. Look at South Vietnam, Cuba, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan. It usually does not go the way that we we hope. And it often puts service members in harm's way."

'Expect fireworks': Mark Kelly floors CNN with blistering response to Hegseth

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) issued a blistering response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Tuesday after he has attempted to seek revenge on the Arizona senator and threatened demote him from his military rank.

Kelly, a member of the Armed Services Committee, partnered with several other Democrats and former military and intelligence officers to warn military members not to follow any illegal orders in a video and expects that it will come up Wednesday during a Senate hearing, CNN's Manu Raju reported.

"Talk about how this is a law enforcement operation. But if, in fact, 150 airplanes were used from multiple services, it feels, you know, less to me, law enforcement and more like a military operation," Kelly said.

"Let me make it perfectly clear. This letter or anything that Pete Hegseth says or does to me, is in no way going to affect the way I do my job and represent my constituents in the United States Senate. Ain't happening. So, you know his option, you know, right now, is he can continue with this kind of bull----, or he can go take a hike. That's his options. And if I have an opportunity to, you know, tell him that tomorrow, maybe I will."

Most members of Congress have reportedly had zero briefings on the operation in Venezuela, Raju added.

"And that last comment referring to that feud that is ongoing with the Secretary of Defense," Raju said. "So expect some fireworks potentially in these Senate and House briefings that will take place tomorrow. Because a lot of questions persist, particularly among Democrats who say that the administration has been far less forthcoming about its plans in Venezuela."

'Heated dust-up' erupts between Pete Hegseth and top Senate Dem

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) got into a fiery argument Tuesday over the Trump administration's lethal boat strikes in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela.

The two were at a classified briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Hegseth and House lawmakers when Kelly, who was apparently sitting in the front row, asked about the ongoing operations, Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio wrote on X.

Hegseth — whose Department of Defense is investigating Kelly over a video he made with other Democratic lawmakers warning active military members not to follow unlawful orders — reportedly responded and referenced the difference between lawful and unlawful orders. The lawmakers in the video, including Kelly, are all veterans.

"Kelly interrupted Hegseth as Hegseth was going after him for the video, noting his question had nothing to do with that," Desiderio wrote.

"INSIDE THE ROOM -- MARK KELLY and PETE HEGSETH get into heated dust up during classified briefing," Jake Sherman, Punchbowl News founder, wrote on X.

An attorney representing Kelly, who has questioned Hegseth's decisions, fired off a warning letter to the Department of Defense on Monday, saying the Arizona Democrat is prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary to stop what they regard as an illegal and politically motivated investigation into him.

Hegseth has faced scrutiny over his role in the lethal boat strikes in the Caribbean during military operations, which some legal experts warned amounted to war crimes or outright murder. The boat strike incidents raised concerns among lawmakers and military observers about rules of engagement, civilian casualties, and whether appropriate oversight and accountability measures were followed during these operations under Hegseth's command or purview.

One Trump foe could be 'the biggest political disruption in a generation': Dem ex-lawmaker

There is one Trump-opposing Democratic lawmaker who could potentially represent "the biggest political disruption in a generation," according to a former Tea Party GOP lawmaker who recently became a Dem.

Former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh, who recently accused Donald Trump's administration of a massive coverup, wrote in a piece on Substack about who he thinks could be the next effective leader. According to him, the key is something that Trump himself has utilized: electoral populism.

"But here’s the thing: populism isn’t an ideology. It’s really a style, which is why it works across the political spectrum. A populist is someone who is brash, relatable, unfiltered, charismatic—someone who sounds like a normal human being instead of a talking-point robot. A non-politician politician. And God knows, in this moment, people are starving for authenticity like that," he wrote, hinting at who such a person might be.

"Listening to Sen. Mark Kelly punch back at Trump and Pete Hegseth earlier this week got me thinking about this concept. I was struck by the fact that, in that moment, Kelly channeled the kind of voice necessary to win nationally and, most importantly, the kind of voice that can restore our social contract. We need someone who is responsible, serious, moderate, decent, and service-minded—but who has a tough, take-no-bullshit approach understood by regular folks," the ex-lawmaker wrote. "What we need is a centrist populist. At first glance, it sounds like a contradiction. Centrist politics conjure up images of bland technocrats, committee chairs, compromise-for-the-sake-of-compromise. The establishment. Populism is raw, emotional, pissed off. Can these two ever coexist?"

He continued, saying, "I believe they can. And we desperately need them to."

Walsh added:

"Here’s the problem with today’s populists: they’re mostly captured by the fringes. MAGA populism channels outrage in service to conspiracy theories, culture war nonsense, and really ugly white nationalism. The left’s best-known populist voices are far more benign, but, for better or worse, the policies they espouse simply wouldn’t fly across most of America."

Walsh, who became a Dem six months ago, concluded with, "The big question: is it possible?"

"Yes! Absolutely. But it requires something rare these days: a leader willing to be loud without being reckless, bold without being destructive, authentic without being cruel. Someone who isn’t afraid to meet the country where it actually is: exhausted, divided, angry, and yearning for something different," the analyst answered. "A centrist populist would be the biggest political disruption in a generation. And I think it’s exactly what America needs."

Read the full post here.