Sen. Mark Kelly offered a scathing assessment of President Joseph R. Biden’s handling of the border, saying the former commander-in-chief created “a crisis” by allowing undocumented immigrants to enter the country legally rather than sending them back.
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“The Biden administration did a bad job at the border. Now, um, I am a border senator. I represent the state of Arizona, and this was affecting my constituents more than it was affecting, let’s say, Todd’s in Indiana,” Mr. Kelly said, referring to Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Republican, during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“So yes, I wound up in a situation with them where I had to do some unpopular things, and I think unpopular things for being a Democrat,” the Arizona Democrat said.
However, Mr. Kelly said he was able to speak freely with Mr. Biden about his concerns on the border and did not fear retribution. He said he was never targeted by an administration until he criticized President Trump over drone strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean.
Mr. Kelly, a retired Navy captain, appeared in a video with other members of Congress who served in the military, encouraging service members not to follow orders they deem illegal.
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Mr. Trump fired back, accusing Mr. Kelly of sedition, punishable by death, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to downgrade his military rank and pay for his comments in the video. A federal judge blocked the efforts to demote Mr. Kelly, saying the move trampled on the senator’s First Amendment rights.
“I think it’s harder,” Mr. Kelly said of a second Trump administration. But he acknowledged that it’s easier to speak out against Mr. Trump as a Democrat because the president endorses primary challengers to Republicans who do so.
“We understand the complexities of our own individual politics and certainly how complex it is, especially for Republicans with this administration in particular. I’d say in this situation, it’s easier to be in the minority,” he said.
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“It is very complicated for them,” he said of Republicans.
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