Mark Kelly is using political judo on Hegseth

Erika D. Smith

US Senator Mark Kelly, the Arizona Democrat who earned a chest full of medals flying combat missions for the Navy before joining NASA to pilot space shuttles, wants everyone in America to know that he’s not going to be “silenced” or “intimidated.” For the past two weeks, Kelly has been on a tear, popping up on podcasts and cable news networks to capitalize on what has become yet another self-inflicted political wound for the Trump administration.

It began with a video, released by Kelly and five congressional Democrats last month, reminding members of the military that they must refuse “illegal orders.” That video would have occupied a single news cycle had the White House simply ignored it. Instead, President Donald Trump called the six Democrats “traitors” deserving of jail time - or even execution. And then the Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, made an even bigger strategic political error by singling out Kelly for a potential court-martial for supposedly “serious allegations of misconduct.”

But Kelly doesn’t seem worried. In fact, he seems jazzed. And why not?

For the 61-year-old senator, what the Trump administration is doing is a gift. Kelly is widely thought to have aspirations of running for president in 2028. He spent much of last summer traveling the US, hosting town halls and raising campaign cash. Kelly does not, however, have national name recognition and the recent attention has become the perfect opportunity to raise his profile.

Kelly even went so far as to hold a press conference this week, offering up highlights of his career in public service. “We all know that this isn’t about me,” Kelly said … after spending several minutes talking about himself. “And it’s not about the others in that video.”

The senator then parlayed his personal bio - which can be tricky for a politician to deliver without seeming arrogant - into an explanation of why he won’t back down. “They’re trying to send a message to retired service members, to government employees, to members of the military, to elected officials and to all Americans who are thinking about speaking up,” he continued. “You better keep your mouth shut - or else.”

Kelly is hardly the first Democratic politician to use a tangle with the Trump administration to burnish his national profile. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker are two high-profile examples.

What sets Kelly apart, though, and what makes elevating and empowering him particularly dangerous for Republicans, is both the senator’s military résumé and the significance of his residency in a growing swing state.

Trump won Arizona in 2016 and 2024, and to win the White House in 2028, Republicans will likely need to do so again. A drop in support from Latino voters, who represented about a quarter of the state’s electorate last year and are upset with Trump over the economy and his indiscriminate immigration enforcement, could complicate that. And by going after Kelly for saying what is an uncontroversial fact of military law, Republicans now run the additional risk of alienating veterans and active-duty service members in a state known for both.

Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Republican John McCain, whose seat Kelly now occupies in the US Senate, has pointed this out, noting that Kelly is “wildly popular” in Arizona and that the Trump administration attacking him “just hurts Republicans.”

Nationally, 50% of Americans already support lawmakers telling members of the military they have a duty not to follow illegal orders, according to YouGov. That includes 54% of Latinos. Only 32% object.

Perhaps sensing the political opportunity to present voters with a contrast, Kelly has increasingly staked out a position as Hegseth’s chief antagonist, often taking a tone of resigned disgust. For example, on Wednesday, after the Pentagon’s acting inspector general found that Hegseth had potentially put American troops at risk by sharing details of airstrikes in Yemen earlier this year, Kelly called him the “most incompetent secretary of defense we’ve ever had.”

From Kelly, this isn’t just talk. Before retiring from the Navy as a captain, he flew 39 combat missions in the Persian Gulf War and has been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The son of New Jersey cops, Kelly got into politics after his wife, former US Representative Gabby Giffords, was nearly killed by a mass shooter while meeting with constituents in southern Arizona.

Kelly won a special election to finish McCain’s term in 2020 and was elected to a full term in 2022. On Capitol Hill, Kelly has developed a reputation for being steady and serious, if not particularly flashy, and for being willing to work with Republicans on legislation.

That record helped put Kelly on Vice President Kamala Harris’ shortlist of potential running mates during her brief stint as the Democratic nominee for president. Harris, of course, ended up choosing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. In her book, 107 Days, Harris wrote that she had worried Kelly was untested politically.

“Could a captain, used to deference and respect, adapt to an opponent’s national campaign specifically designed to disrespect him?” Harris asked.

Kelly seems determined to show that the answer is an unequivocal yes. And there seem to be few, if any, political downsides to doing so.

• Erika D. Smith is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is a former Los Angeles Times columnist and Sacramento Bee editorial board member.