Mark Kelly says he’s considering a presidential run in 2028 amid Pentagon probe

PHOENIX — Although the head of the Pentagon is considering demoting Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, the astronaut-turned-politician is thinking about running for the highest office in the nation.

Kelly expressed his thoughts on the possibility of running in the 2028 presidential election in two recent interviews, one with CNN and one with a content creator named Aaron Parnas.

“I think every senator thinks about it at one point,” Kelly told Parnas in a Jan. 7 interview.

During his Wednesday interview with CNN, Kelly said he is starting to seriously consider a presidential run, especially after he was officially censured.

“I feel this obligation more so than anything I’ve ever done in my life, to fight back against an unhinged president and a weaponization of the federal government against the constitutional rights of a million retired veterans,” Kelly told CNN. “I still think it needs to be the right person for the moment, and we don’t know what that moment is yet.”

Mark Kelly discusses presidential aspirations amid federal scrutiny

The Democratic congressman from Arizona has been in the national spotlight since Nov. 18, 2025, after he and five Democratic colleagues released a 90-second video telling members of the U.S. military and the intelligence community they have a duty to refuse “illegal orders.”

Two days after the video was released, President Donald Trump called the participants “traitors” and accused them of sedition “punishable by death” on his Truth Social account.

On Nov. 24, the Department of War announced it was reviewing “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly and warned he could face court-martial proceedings.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth then said Kelly is the only one under investigation because he, as a retired Navy commander, is currently subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice while the others aren’t.

Last week, Kelly filed a lawsuit against Hegseth over the Trump official’s efforts to demote him from his retired rank of Navy captain.

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