Mark Kelly says removing Hegseth makes sense
Mark KellyU.S. senator for Arizona; named in Article VI of the Massie resolution
Asked whether Hegseth should be impeached, Sen. Mark Kelly said Hegseth should never have had the job and agreed that removing him from the position makes sense.
“I could probably cite 50 times the guy should have been fired.” … “Yeah, I agree that it makes sense to remove him from this position.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Pete Hegseth be impeached?
Members of the House have advanced multiple impeachment proposals involving Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Rep. Shri Thanedar introduced H.Res. 935 in December 2025, Rep. Yassamin Ansari introduced H.Res. 1177 in April 2026, and Rep. Thomas Massie announced in September that he would offer a privileged resolution. The proposals allege distinct conduct involving military operations, oversight, and the handling of sensitive information; the proposals themselves do not establish those allegations. Hegseth disputed the characterization that anyone was “texting war plans,” while Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson called the April effort a charade and, after Massie read his articles on September 15, defended Hegseth’s record without addressing the specific allegations. The dispute is whether the House should impeach Hegseth on the basis of the congressional proposals and available evidence.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
The Washington Examiner reports Sen. Mark Kelly’s answer when asked whether Hegseth should be impeached. Kelly is named in Article VI of Massie’s resolution. No second outlet carrying this specific exchange was located.
Before the quotation
The Washington Examiner reports that Kelly was asked whether he thinks Hegseth should be impeached, and said Hegseth should have “never” had the job.
After the quotation
The two sentences are printed as separate quotations divided by the attribution “Kelly said.” Kelly is named in Article VI of Massie’s resolution, which alleges retaliation against him; that allegation is unadjudicated.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether the House should impeach Hegseth, Kelly answers an express impeachment question by agreeing that removal makes sense. The Senate tries an impeachment rather than voting articles, and Kelly does not address the House resolution itself.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Pete Hegseth
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“Pete Hegseth remains incompetent and is not doing what's necessary to protect our service members, which is why he's my priority number one if we retake the majority, to make sure we oust him from the Pentagon, because our service members actually deserve competent, serious, real leadership that will protect them and do the right thing.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Mark Kelly says removing Hegseth makes sense". First published: 2026-09-16. Last updated: 2026-09-16. https://disputeindex.com/events/668-asked-whether-hegseth-should-be-impeached-sen-mark