Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Kelly labeled Hegseth as unqualified for his position and accused him of seeking to appease former President Donald Trump. This exchange follows Hegseth's request for the Navy secretary to investigate Kelly's comments in a video directed at military personnel, which he deemed potentially unlawful.

Kelly expressed concern over the administration's response, describing it as instilling fear and indicative of how democracies can falter. "It is right out of the playbook, you know, the playbook of authoritarianism. That's what they do. They try to suppress speech," Kelly stated. He emphasized that every individual has First Amendment rights and criticized the president for infringing upon those rights. "You do not want to cross him, and your loyalty should be to him. It should not. It should always be to the Constitution," he added.

In his remarks, Kelly asserted that Hegseth is "totally unqualified" and suggested that his actions are motivated by a desire to please Trump. He remarked on the absurdity of Hegseth potentially pursuing action against him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, saying, "It is so ridiculous, it's almost like you can't make this s*** up."

Kelly recounted a moment when he learned of Trump's reaction to his video. He was with Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, when a staffer handed her a note. "So somebody comes in in the middle of our brief, slips her a piece of paper and I take a look at the piece of paper, and it says the president is calling for your execution,'" Kelly explained. He noted that Slotkin later returned to inform him that Trump was also calling for his execution.

Earlier this week, Hegseth criticized Kelly for allegedly misrepresenting his military medals and accused him of participating in a politically motivated operation. Hegseth's comments included a post on social media where he stated, "So 'Captain' Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order & you can't even display your uniform properly." He also pointed out that Kelly's medals were displayed incorrectly.

Hegseth emphasized that the military has established procedures for addressing unlawful orders and that political figures should not interfere with the military's chain of command.

All military officers who have retired after 20 years of service can be recalled to active duty. If found guilty of misconduct, they may face military prosecution, including court-martial. Kelly, who served 25 years in the Navy and at NASA before retiring in 2011, could face administrative measures that might affect his rank and pension.

"That is not how our democracy works, and we cannot go down that slippery slope," Kelly concluded.