Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly agrees it’s a “good thing” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed Saturday in strikes launched by the United States and Israel, but expressed concerns about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the president’s motivation for military action.
While speaking to “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker, Kelly explained of Hegseth, “Well, I didn’t vote for him. And I have previously said and I maintain that he’s the least qualified Secretary of Defense we’ve ever had in our country’s history.”
The pair’s conversation began with Khamenei’s death – an outcome that the outspoken critic of the Trump administration agreed was a positive.
“I mean, it’s a good thing that the supreme leader is gone and some of the folks around him,” Kelly said. “And I have to give a shout-out to the young men and women of the U.S. military who, you know, by their skill and, you know, focused on the mission and determination and patriotism were able to conduct this operation. So that part’s a good thing.”
He continued, “But what I also heard from Lindsey (Graham), and we saw in the president’s tweet earlier today is they’re talking about hope. You know, the president said, ‘hopefully.’ Lindsey a number of times said, ‘We hope.’ Hope is not a strategy. We got to have a plan here. I mean, what is the strategic goal? And how do we achieve it? And my job here in the United States Senate is to make sure that this administration, you know, has a plan and doesn’t put Americans, especially U.S. service members, at further risk.”
Kelly also warned it will be “challening” to carry out the Trump administration’s military operation without putting American soldiers on the ground in Iran.
Despite claims from Sen. Lindsey Graham that it can be done, Kelly, who served in the Navy, said, “That is incredibly challenging. I mean, for somebody, you know, myself, I’ve, you know, used air power in defense of this country. I flew 39 combat missions. We could take out targets. You could destroy a building. You could even, you know, based on what happened, you know, previously, this summer, you know, you can even hit underground targets. But eliminating things and fully taking out a capability is really challenging without putting people there on the ground.”
Welker and Kelly also dove into how long the military operations might last. Trump previously said the U.S. will be involved in Iran “at least a week” and vice president J.D. Vance said before the strike, “There is no chance the U.S. will be drawn into a prolonged war with Iran.”
Kelly seemed less optimistic. Welker asked, “Do you accept that? Or do you think it’s possible that this could become a prolonged military engagement, Senator?”
“Well, absolutely it could be. And that’s the concern here. And that’s why we need to get back in Washington and have a discussion with the White House on this and have a vote. Hey, you got the president and the vice president saying things that are 180° out, right? On one hand, not going to be prolonged. On the other, it could be a drawn-out conflict. Which one is it? And what is your plan going forward?” he responded.
Watch the interview in the video above.
