After a federal judge blocked Pete Hegseth from taking away Sen. Mark Kelly’s military pension, and the administration appealed, Sen. Mark Kelly stood outside the federal court of appeals and called Trump and Hegseth.
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Sen. Kelly said:
Even after a federal judge ruled earlier this year that his attempts to silence me were unconstitutional, he wouldn’t stop. And today, this administration argued in federal court that not only do I not have the same freedom of speech rights as other Americans- But that the millions of other retired veterans across the country don’t either, including many of the individuals standing besides me today.
According to them, any time a retired veteran says something that the Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, they can be punished. So the people who have given the most in service to this country wouldn’t be free to say what they believe. It’s absurd, and it’s outrageous. It is an outrageous violation of our constitutional rights.
One of our most fundamental rights is the right to speak out about the 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 is two months into a war with Iran that he started without a strategic goal.
Mark Kelly said nothing controversial, but his remarks defending liberty and the Constitution set MAGA off.