Sen. Mark Kelly clashes with Hegseth over Pentagon’s investigation into him
Sen. Mark Kelly arrives for a closed door meeting on Capitol Hill, Dec. 16, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on Tuesday called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s investigation into him a “bunch of bull****” and said he believes it’s about sending a message to retired service members not to speak out against the president.
“This is very performative for him,” Kelly told reporters about the investigation.
Kelly said Hegseth raised the investigation during a closed-door briefing to senators on the military’s campaign in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea targeting boats believed to be carrying drugs. According to Kelly, he asked a question about the boat strikes and Hegseth responded by chastising Kelly and other democratic lawmakers for posting a video urging troops not to follow illegal orders.
Hegseth asked Secretary of the Navy John Phelan to review Kelly for “potentially unlawful conduct” after the Arizona senator was featured in the video with five other Democrats who have served in the military and U.S. intelligence.
The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday in a prepared statement that it was “escalating” its review into Kelly from a preliminary review to an official “command investigation.”
Hegseth has said he believes the video by Kelly and others created confusion among troops and could encourage insubordination. Hegseth said he’s looking into whether the military should call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face a court martial or some kind of administrative punishment.
On Monday, Kelly’s attorney, Paul Fishman, said in a letter to Phelan that if the Trump administration moves ahead with proceedings against Kelly in any forum, “all appropriate legal action” will be taken.
“To be clear: there is no legitimate basis for any type of proceeding against Senator Kelly, and any such effort would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power. If the Executive Branch were to move forward in any forum—criminal, disciplinary, or administrative—we will take all appropriate legal action on Senator Kelly’s behalf to halt the Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach,” Fishman wrote in the letter obtained by ABC News.
Kelly said he hasn’t heard anything from the Defense Department since he retired in 2011 when he was recognized for his 25 years of service.
“This is all bunch of bull****,” Kelly said Tuesday.
Kelly later added: “This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members, government employees — do not speak out against this president, or there will be consequences.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kelly’s remarks to reporters on Tuesday.
(NEW YORK) — While Democrats have been celebrating some recent wins in the ongoing mid-decade congressional map redistricting sweeping the country, they face some roadblocks in Democratic-aligned states over building on those wins – and the future of President Donald Trump’s agenda remains at stake regardless of how long the battles drag on for.
Why Republicans and Democrats are trying to redraw seats
Which party controls the House after the 2026 midterm elections could come down to just a couple of seats. As of Thursday, Republicans hold 219 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives while Democrats hold 214, with two seats vacant.
If all of the seats are filled by the midterms, Democrats need to only net three seats to flip the House in 2026, allowing them to thwart Trump’s legislative agenda during the second half of his presidency. Republicans, meanwhile, hope to bolster their razor-thin majority and continue moving Trump’s legislative priorities forward.
That’s why fighting over five seats in one state or fewer in another matters so much.
The ongoing mid-decade redistricting also further narrows what was already a relatively small field of truly competitive seats. The Cook Political Report only rates 16 seats as of Thursday as a “toss-up” out of all 435 U.S. House seats. The ratings factor in states that completed mid-decade redistricting already.
Some wins for Democrats, but roadblocks ahead
Initially, it appeared like the new scramble of congressional map redrawing would favor Republicans. Texas legislators pushed through a map that redraws five congressional seats to favor Republicans; GOP-controlled legislatures or commissions in Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio soon followed suit with maps that could allow the GOP to flip at least one seat in each state.
And Republican-controlled legislatures in Florida, Kansas, and Louisiana are mulling redrawing their maps and could box out even more Democrats.
Kansas may be an unusual case. Republican state legislators have discussed redrawing the state’s congressional map to box out the Sunflower State’s lone Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Sharice Davids.
But Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is staunchly opposed to mid-decade redistricting, and Republican legislators have indicated they will not be able to get enough signatures to bypass her to call a special session about the issue. Some have also indicated they want to resist White House pressure to redistrict.
A pending Supreme Court ruling in a Louisiana case might trigger more redrawing in favor of Republicans.
Democrats said they’d try to counteract that Republican push – and their first major win came when California voters chose on Election Day to vote yes on “Proposition 50,” which will redraw their state’s congressional map to make five seats potentially winnable by Democrats.
(The Department of Justice on Thursday joined a legal effort by Republicans in California suing over the new map; Newsom’s office responded that “these losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court.”)
After California, one less expected success for Democrats came about in Utah, which was redrawing its congressional map due to a court order.
A judge ordered late Monday that the state must adopt a congressional map proposed by plaintiffs in a lawsuit, ruling in favor of a map that includes a redrawn Salt Lake City-based district that leans strongly in favor of Democrats.
Utah’s four-member U.S. House delegation is currently fully Republican. The new map creates a congressional district centered around Salt Lake City that analysts say strongly favors Democrats.
And notable names are taking note. On Thursday, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, who once represented Utah’s 4th congressional district, announced a run for the new district.
But further success for Democrats in mid-decade redistricting ahead of the midterms is not assured.
For instance, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has formed an advisory commission on redistricting, but state Senate President Bill Ferguson, also a Democrat, has said he opposes moving forward with redistricting.
Ferguson wrote in a recent letter, obtained by ABC News, to Democratic state Senators that “mid-cycle redistricting for Maryland presents a reality where the legal risks are too high, the timeline for action is dangerous, the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic, and the certainty of our existing map would be undermined.”
But Maryland U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin and Steny Hoyer, both Democrats, wrote in a separate letter obtained by ABC News that Maryland Democrats should redistrict “to make Maryland House seats more competitive in a way that counters the Trump national steamroller.” The Baltimore Sun first reported on the letter.
Democratic state legislators in Illinois have, similar to Maryland lawmakers, not been entirely on board with possible redistricting, even though national Democratic leaders such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are pushing for it.
A separate effort by Democratic legislators in Virginia to allow the legislature to redraw congressional districts is still moving forward, but will need to go through many steps before legislators can even propose a map. However, Democrats maintained control of the state House of Delegates and won the governorship in 2025’s elections.
How do Americans feel – and how long could this go on for?
Americans are caught in the middle of the redistricting struggle, facing confusion over who will represent them and what district they’ll be voting in. A Marquette University Law School poll taken in September found that 70% of American adults oppose states redrawing districts “to make them as advantageous as possible for the party with the majority in the state.”
And how long could the back-and-forth on mid-decade redistricting go on for?
It may depend on candidate filing deadlines, which are the dates by when a candidate needs to submit paperwork to get on the ballot for a state’s primary. In Maryland, for instance, the filing deadline for the congressional primary is on Feb. 24. In Kansas, it’s not until June 1.
If state legislatures aiming for new congressional maps haven’t passed them into law by then, candidates will likely still be filing to run in the current districts. Lawsuits or legislative action could change deadlines as well.
The real date to watch is Nov. 3, 2026. The midterms themselves will be the true test of whether Republicans or Democrats have won, lost, or fought the redistricting wars to a draw – and what lies ahead for Trump’s agenda.
(WASHINGTON) — Thursday marks the 30th day of the federal government shutdown and the American public has grown more concerned about the shutdown throughout the month and more disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the federal government, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
More Americans blame Trump and the Republicans in Congress than the Democrats for the shutdown, the poll finds.
Three-quarters of Americans say they are concerned about the government shutdown, up from two-thirds who said the same on the first day of the shutdown in a Washington Post poll. Now, 43% of Americans say that they are “very” concerned about the shutdown, up from 25% on Oct. 1.
Nearly half of Americans, 45%, say Trump and congressional Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, while 33% say congressional Democrats are responsible and another 22% are not sure. That is barely a shift from the Post’s poll on Oct. 1 when 47% blamed Trump and Republicans, 30% blamed Democrats and 23% were unsure at the onset of the shutdown.
Democrats are more united, saying that Trump and Republicans are to blame for the shutdown (81%) than Republicans saying Democrats are to blame (72%). Twice as many independents say Trump and Republicans are responsible (46%) than Democrats (23%).
Majorities across partisan lines say they are concerned about the shutdown: Nearly nine in 10 Democrats along with over seven in 10 independents and over six in 10 Republicans are concerned about the shutdown, but more Democrats say they are “very” concerned (62%) than independents (43%) or Republicans (26%).
Concern over the shutdown is higher among women, with 81% voicing concern, compared with 68% of men.
And a growing share of Americans disapprove of how Trump is managing the federal government. In all, 63% disapprove today, up from 57% in April and 54% in February. Just over a third (36%) approve in the most recent poll.
The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll asked Americans to explain why they think either Trump and Republicans or Democrats are to blame for the federal government shutting down. Here are some of their written responses:
“They won’t budge on the concerns of healthcare premiums skyrocketing for all Americans. He is not for all Americans, only his interests matter,” said a 65-year-old Democratic woman in Wisconsin.
“They seem more interested in keeping power than working for the country’s benefit,” said a 78-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in Oregon.
“They control all of the portions of the federal government,” said a 45-year-old Democratic man in Tennessee.
“Trump is the president and the Republicans hold the majority. Not only that, Speaker Johnson let out the House on vacation, and Trump/Republicans won’t even try to work with Democrats on the loss of healthcare funding that is going to hurt millions of people,” said a 34-year-old Democratic woman in Minnesota.
“Trump said it himself a few years ago that it’s the President’s job to bring the 2 sides together,” said a 59-year-old Democratic-leaning independent woman in Pennsylvania.
“President Trump and the Maga GOP are refusing to negotiate over the Affordable Care Act expiration regardless of the negative impact on many of their supporters and they have no alternative plans for keeping the cost of healthcare from rising,” said a 69-year-old Democratic woman in Virginia.
“The Republicans control Congress. They won’t negotiate. Of course they’re responsible. We cannot take healthcare away from millions of Americans,” said a 40-year-old Democratic woman in Iowa.
“They refuse to negotiate in good faith,” said a 78-year-old Democratic-leaning independent man in Ohio.
Among those blaming Democrats:
“They want healthcare for illegal immigrants to be paid for out of my pocket. Not right,” said a 78-year-old Republican woman in Oregon.
“Because they will not budge,” said a 37-year-old Republican-leaning independent woman in Arizona.
“They want to negotiate subsidies on health care, but they do not want to conduct the negotiation within the relevant House and Senate committees. They are holding all of the government hostage over one issue,” said a 78-year-old Republican man in South Carolina.
“They voted down the continuation resolutions multiple times,” said a 56-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in Nebraska.
“The Democrats are the ones who will not budge on coming to an agreement,” said a 43-year-old independent woman in Texas.
“The Democrats have supported the items in the continuing resolution and are demanding things that continue to build the debt,” said a 69-year-old Republican-leaning independent man in California.
“Republicans offered and passed a clean bill with no Republican additions and Democrats continually vote no,” said a 76-year-old Republican man in Texas.
Methodology: This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® Oct. 24-28, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,725 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, including the design effect. Error margins are larger for subgroups.
Former New York Governor and democratic candidate for New York City Mayor Andrew Cuomo appears on The View, Oct. 6, 2025. ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo told “The View” on Monday it would be a “gift” to President Donald Trump if Zohran Mamdani wins the election in November and becomes New York City’s next mayor.
Cuomo said he’s the “last person” Trump wants to see as mayor, citing their relationship while he was governor of New York. “We fought on a daily basis,” Cuomo said.
He alleged that a Mamdani win would lead to a federal takeover of New York City and then Trump would use Mamdani as an example during other elections about the dangers of electing a far-left politician.
Trump “will take a picture of Mamdani and run around the country and say, here’s what happened to the Democrats,” Cuomo said. “Mamdani is a gift for him … because it’s the excuse he needs to take over New York, which he said he will do.”
Mamdani’s campaign is refuting Cuomo’s claims on “The View,” instead accusing Cuomo of wanting to “roll out the red carpet” for the president.
“Donald Trump and his billionaire donors have made it crystal clear that Andrew Cuomo is their choice candidate for mayor,” the Mamdani campaign said in a statement shared with ABC News. “When Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, Cuomo told New Yorkers not to overreact – and when Trump began deporting our neighbors, Cuomo called him for political advice. New Yorkers know that while Andrew Cuomo would simply roll out the red carpet for Trump, Zohran will be a mayor who fights relentlessly to protect us against Trump’s authoritarianism and deliver a more affordable city.”
Cuomo denied allegations from Mamdani and other critics that he’s Trump’s pick in the race. Cuomo also denied reporting in the New York Times that he had recently discussed the race on a call with Trump.
New York City’s mayoral race is down to three candidates, including Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, after Mayor Eric Adams recently dropped out of the race. He said the race is down to a democratic socialist in Mamdani and himself, a true Democrat.
“What’s really happening is there’s a civil war within the Democratic Party going on, and the Democratic Party is looking for its identity. And there are two factions. You have the democratic socialists, and then you have the Democrats, they have a very extreme view that they’re pursuing, which is different than the Democratic Party,” Cuomo said Monday on “The View.”
After Adams announced he was dropping out of the mayor’s race, Cuomo gave him kudos and said his withdrawal indeed shakes up the race. He said that New Yorkers should be “afraid” of a win by Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
“I believe Mayor Adams is 100% sincere. I applaud his selflessness. You know, we often wonder, is it about us, or is it about a greater calling? And I think what Mayor Adams said today speaks volumes,” Cuomo said at the time. “He said, I’m going to put my personal ambition aside for the good of the city, because he’s afraid of the result if Mr. Mamdani would have [sic] win the election, and we should all be afraid of the result.”
And Adams no longer campaigning makes a difference, Cuomo said: “It’s not just about the polling. You know, the mayor was – is the incumbent mayor, so he is a potent force in the campaign; if he is not actively campaigning, that changes the entire dynamic of the race.”
Even still, Cuomo is running an uphill campaign after Mamdani delivered an upset win during the June Democratic primary. The former governor has been trailing the Democratic nominee in most polls and Mamdani has racked up major endorsements, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Cuomo has faced scrutiny during his mayoral campaign following his exit from the governor’s office four years ago as he faced mounting sexual harassment allegations.
During his appearance on The View, Cuomo said he now acts much more cautiously due to the “very painful” allegations.
“I learned a lesson, a painful lesson, which is to be much more cautious about everything you say, any joke, any comment,” Cuomo said Monday. “I won’t kiss a person on the cheek unless they initiate a kiss. So they taught me a lesson, just to be super cautious, because there is a sensitivity that has evolved that is real. If people feel it, it’s true, and it has to be respected.”
Cuomo made apologies back in 2021 when the allegations surfaced, but has since insisted he did nothing wrong, despite a state attorney general probe alleging he harassed 11 women. He was never charged with any wrongdoing,
Mamdani and other opponents have contended that Cuomo is still unfit to serve in office.
The former governor lost the Democratic primary after three rounds of ranked choice voting by nearly 130,000 votes. Cuomo pressed on and announced shortly after the defeat that he would continue to run as an independent candidate.
