Kelly says he has ‘serious concerns’ over boat strikes

Sen. Mark Kelly on Sunday said he has “serious concerns” over reports that military members deliberately killed survivors of a boat strike in September.

In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Arizona Democrat said he hopes the reports are untrue.

“If what has been reported is accurate, I've got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over,” Kelly told host Dana Bash. “We are not Russia. We're not Iraq. We hold ourselves to a very high standard of professionalism.”

According to the Washington Post, a Sept. 2 boat strike left two survivors — until a commander requested a second strike with the intent to kill all survivors in effort to comply with Hegseth's orders to "kill everybody."

Kelly said that there should be an inspector general investigation into the allegations, adding that had he been given the order during his time in the Navy, he would not have acted on it.

“Going after survivors in the water, that is clearly not lawful,” Kelly said.

Kelly, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, is facing a threatened investigation over a video he and several other Democratic lawmakers made this month telling service members they are obligated to refuse illegal orders.

The senator on Sunday also condemned the administration’s recent decision to pause migration from "Third World countries." Trump announced the pause following a shooting just blocks from the White House that killed one member of the National Guard and critically wounded another. The alleged shooter is a 29-year-old Afghan national.

“When he says things like Third World countries, what is he really saying?” Kelly said. “I think what he's saying is, he doesn't want brown people in our country. And that is disturbing and it's un-American.”

Kelly’s comments received quick condemnation from Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla).

“He just got done saying that the president was racist because he doesn't like brown people. Yet I sit in front of you as a Cherokee Indian, and I'm very close friends with the president,” Mullin told Bash in an interview that followed Kelly's.

Mullin also defended Trump’s decision to strike Venezuelan boats, saying that the president is “trying to protect our shores.”

“This is what peace through strength looks like. We're not going to wait until you come to us. We're going to go to you if you threaten our country,” Mullin said.

The Oklahoma Republican added that he “doubts” the boat strike reports.

“Nothing has been verified by this,” Mullin said. “nothing's been proven at all about this. No one's come out and said it was accurate. It's just somebody by alleged source that anybody can name or make up that this supposedly took place.”