Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. KELLY. Madam President, I didn't expect that I would ever find myself here, as a U.S. Senator, having filed a lawsuit against a Secretary of Defense.

When I graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1986 and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as an ensign, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I have upheld that oath every single day since.

I upheld it on the second night of Operation Desert Storm, when a Russian-made SA-6 surface-to-air missile locked onto my airplane when I was on a mission to bomb an airfield in southern Iraq. I made a last- ditch maneuver. The missile exploded above us, and I delivered the bombs on target.

I upheld my oath as a test pilot, logging hundreds of flight hours, pushing aircraft to the limits, to make sure that our pilots had the best aircraft and systems to use in combat.

And I upheld my oath when my service took me to NASA, where I went into space four times, where I was honored to command two space shuttle missions, and where I was also the first astronaut on the scene in East Texas after Space Shuttle Columbia exploded during reentry, and I had to recover the bodies of my friends and astronaut classmates.

And I have upheld my oath here in the U.S. Senate, a place I never expected to find myself in because my wife Gabby was always the elected official in our family. If she had never been shot in the head, she would be here in this Chamber and not me. But I love this country, and I felt that I had an obligation to continue my public service in a way that I never expected. And so I have upheld my oath in this job too because I take seriously my duty to protect the Constitution for all Americans.

I just never expected that I would have to protect the rule of law against a Secretary of Defense. Pete Hegseth is now coming after what I earned through my 25 years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American and as a retired veteran and as a U.S. Senator, whose job it is to hold this and any administration accountable. He doesn't like what I said, and so he is trying to censure and demote me.

And let's talk for just a second about what it is that I said that he decided to censure me over, according to his letter: first, that I simply restated the law--that servicemembers must refuse illegal orders. Somehow, restating the law is now against the law, according to Pete Hegseth.

This isn't new. It is something every recruit is taught. It is something that Pete Hegseth himself has said repeatedly, including, specifically, about this President and Commander in Chief, Donald Trump.

Second, that I criticized him for firing admirals and generals and that this administration is surrounding themselves with a bunch of yes- men.

Let me repeat it here right now: It is bad for our national security that Pete Hegseth fired admirals and generals because of who they are. And a bunch of yes-men--well, that is bad for any organization.

Lastly, he is censuring me because I have raised concerns about his actions and military operations. Well, that is my job. I have every right to say these things--as an American, as a retired servicemember, and as a U.S. Senator, and especially as a member of the Armed Services Committee whose duty it is to provide oversight over the Department of Defense.

Pete Hegseth's unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military. If you speak out and say something that the President and Secretary of Defense don't like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.

Every servicemember knows that military rank is earned; it is not given. It is earned through the risks you take, the sacrifices you and your family make, the leadership you display, and the respect you earn from the superiors who recommend you for promotion. After my 25 years of service, I earned my rank as a captain in the U.S. Navy.

Now, Pete Hegseth wants even our longest serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and retirement pay, years or even decades after they leave the military, just because he or another Secretary of Defense or a President doesn't like what they have said.

If Pete Hegseth succeeds in silencing me, then he and every other Secretary of Defense who comes after him will have license to punish any retired veteran of any political persuasion for the things that they say. And by that logic, a 100-year-old World War II veteran could be hauled in and censured or court-martialed because he says something that Pete Hegseth disagrees with.

That is wrong. It is not the way things work in the United States of America, and I will not stand for it because our freedom of speech, the separation of powers, and due process are not just words on a page. They are core principles of our democracy. When we say we have an obligation to protect and defend the Constitution, this is exactly what we are all talking about. It is this--because that oath that I spoke about earlier, it should sound very familiar to other folks in this room because it is the same one that every Member of the U.S. Senate has taken.

For 250 years, we have been the greatest democracy the world has ever seen because patriotic Americans have been willing to stand up for not just their own rights but for the rights of all of our fellow citizens. That continued resolve is what will decide if our democracy lasts another 250 years.

That is why, today, I filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Defense to protect my rights, the rights of retired veterans, and the rights of all Americans. I have never backed down from a fight for our country, and I am not going to back down from this one.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source