After a federal judge blocked Pete Hegseth from taking away Sen. Mark Kelly’s military pension and the administration appealed, Senator Mark Kelly stood in front of the federal appeals court and called out Trump and Hegseth.
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Senator Kelly said:
Even after a federal judge ruled earlier this year that his attempts to silence me were unconstitutional, he didn’t stop. And today, this administration argued in federal court that not only do I not have the same free speech rights as other Americans, but neither do the millions of other retired veterans across the country, including many of the people who stand with me today.
They say any time a retired veteran says something the defense secretary doesn’t like, they can be punished. So the people who have given the most to serve this country would not be free to say what they believe. It’s absurd and it’s scandalous. This is a scandalous violation of our constitutional rights.
One of our most fundamental rights is the right to have a voice in government. It’s the right that guarantees all others, and it’s how we hold our government accountable, and it’s especially important right now. Donald Trump has been engaged for two months in a war with Iran that he started without a strategic objective.
Mark Kelly didn’t say anything controversial, but his remarks defending freedom and the Constitution sparked MAGA.