Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called a veterans’ video featuring Mark Kelly “seditious” and announced a formal letter of censure with possible further action.
- Hegseth said he initiated a 45-day administrative process that could lower Kelly’s retirement rank and pay, though no final decision has been made.
- Kelly, a retired Navy captain and Arizona senator, has pledged to contest the action and defended his service and free-speech rights in public statements.
- Kelly appeared as the guest on The Daily Show’s Season 31 premiere with Jon Stewart, bringing the dispute onto a high-profile late-night platform.
- Comedy Central reported The Daily Show’s strongest 18–49 performance since 2020 and record social metrics in 2025, with Stewart hosting Mondays through 2026 and Ronny Chieng rotating later in the week.