Secretary Hegseth Accuses Sen. Kelly of Violating Oath Over Classified Briefing Comments

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Sunday suggested Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., may have violated his oath with comments he made to a news outlet after a classified briefing.

Kelly told Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation that it is "shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines" when she asked if the Pentagon has updated lawmakers on the Iran war's impact on U.S. weapons stockpiles.

The senator said the Tomahawks, Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) rounds and Patriot rounds used to defend the U.S. have been hit hard. He added that it will take years to replenish those stockpiles, which could affect a hypothetical U.S. conflict with China.

Hegseth questioned whether Kelly, a former Navy pilot, may have violated his oath and said the Pentagon's legal counsel will review his comments.

"'Captain' Mark Kelly strikes again," Hegseth wrote on X. "Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received," he continued. "Did he violate his oath… again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will review."

The exchange comes amid a months-long dispute between Hegseth and Kelly over the senator's participation in a video with Democratic colleagues in Congress. The video urged U.S. military members to ignore "illegal" orders.

The DOJ had opened an investigation into the video posted online. It featured six Democratic lawmakers calling on troops and members of the intelligence community to defy illegal orders from the federal government. All the lawmakers served in the military or at intelligence agencies.

In addition to Kelly, the others were Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, as well as Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Jason Crow of Colorado.

"This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens," the lawmakers said in the video. "Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats coming to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution."

Grand jurors declined to sign off on charges against the lawmakers in February.

In November, the Pentagon launched an investigation into Kelly, citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the secretary for possible court-martial or other punishment.

Hegseth has censured Kelly and tried to retroactively demote him from his retired rank of captain over his participation in the video, which states that refusing unlawful orders is standard military protocol.

A federal court ruling blocked the Pentagon from demoting the lawmaker over the video. The court also found the Pentagon likely violated Kelly’s First Amendment rights, and those of "millions of military retirees," when it formally censured him on Jan. 5.

Hegseth appealed that ruling.

Last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments and appeared largely skeptical of Hegseth’s attempt to punish Kelly for the video.

"I will not back down from this fight," Kelly said after the hearing.

President Donald Trump had accused the lawmakers of being "traitors" who engaged in "sedition at the highest level" and "should be in jail" after the video was posted last fall. He even suggested they should be executed over the video, although he later tried to walk that comment back.

Slotkin, who previously worked at the CIA and Pentagon, received a bomb threat just days after the clip and Trump's statements suggesting the Democrats be executed.

Fox News Digital reached out to Kelly for comment.