Scott Jennings, the resident MAGA Republican pundit at CNN, was backed into a corner during a Monday panel discussion, getting pressed about the Department of Defense's latest attack against a Democratic senator while attempting to attack said lawmaker as publicity-seeking.
Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for a renewed investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, for allegedly disclosing classified information during a televised interview with CBS News's Face the Nation, where he said it was "shocking" how deeply the U.S. military has depleted its munitions amid the ongoing war with Iran. This marks the second time the Pentagon has attempted to investigate Kelly, a leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, with the last effort getting shot down in court.
"We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles. That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you," Kelly wrote in a social media post responding to Hegseth.
During a Wednesday broadcast of CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt, Alex Thompson, a national political reporter for Axios, noted how Hegseth's highly publicized attacks on Kelly have done wonders for the senator's fundraising efforts.
"Pete Hegseth has been the best political fundraiser of Kark Kelly's entire career," Thompson said. "Mark Kelly, as of the end of last quarter, had $22 million cash on hand. He's not up for reelection... until 2028. And of all the people thinking about running for president in 2028, he has the most cash on hand by a long shot. He has more cash on hand than [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] or any of these other people.... Mark Kelly's political team has made the most of it."
"Every single day that the Trump administration takes on Mark Kelly is a good day for the Kelly potential presidential campaign," Jamal Simmons, the former communication advisor for Kamala Harris, added. "He goes up in stock not just in money, but also people paying attention to this. They'll sort out what happened with the, you know, who said what and which briefing. But the political problem that the trump administration has is Mark Kelly, fighter pilot, astronaut, husband of Gabby Giffords is a very tough political opponent for them."
In response to those comments from Thompson and Simmons, Jennings chimed in, arguing that the fundraising angle gave Kelly "partisan interests" for seemingly picking a fight with the Trump administration.
"This man is a United States senator. He's getting classified briefings from the Pentagon. And then he goes on television and tells our enemies around the world in great specificity which weapon systems are depleted, which need to be restocked," Jennings said. "Did he ever stop to ask himself what is in the best interest of the United States of America, and not just my own political future? Because it's obvious that he did not. A sitting senator going on television and telegraphing to our enemies and our threats around the world what we may or may not have. It's extraordinarily irresponsible, but let's not let that get in the way of a presidential campaign."
In response, host Kasie Hunt asked, if the information about the depleted munitions was so important, why Hegseth opted to state publicly that the information was classified and important, instead of quietly pushing for an investigation into Kelly. Jennings, in return, appeared flustered by the pushback.
"Look, look, right. I mean, look, Mark Kelly went on television and said, I got a classified briefing and here's what I was told," Jennings said.
"I'm just saying, it sounds like they're both doing the same thing, right?" Hunt responded. "Everyone's playing politics here... if you're going to buy into your argument that, hey, this is a senator, right? Who's running for president, and that's what we're acknowledging he's doing. Like, is Hegseth not doing the same thing?"
