“Thank you Kid Rock,” Hegseth posted on X<\/a> Tuesday afternoon. “US Army pilots suspension lifted. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S. Army aircrew was previously suspended from flight duties pending an investigation into Saturday’s helicopter stunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n FEDERAL JUDGE GRILLS DOJ LAWYERS OVER CENSURE OF DEMOCRATIC SENATOR<\/a><\/p>\n MS NOW host Willie Geist asked Kelly, a veteran Navy pilot, to react to the move by Hegseth on Wednesday’s “Morning Joe.”<\/p>\n “I\u2019m not a Kid Rock fan. You know, I \u2014 at the same time, I mean, I don\u2019t see why we would, you know, punish these guys,” Kelly said. “Some, you know, young pilots in \u2014 whether it\u2019s an Apache or there were times, you know, I did stuff in airplanes that probably wasn\u2019t the smartest thing to do.”<\/p>\n Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth\u00a0 (Graeme Sloan\/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Kelly told Geist he disagreed with Hegseth on most things but said the pilots shouldn’t be punished.<\/p>\n “So, I \u2014 and I generally do not agree with Pete Hegseth, you know, on anything, and I don\u2019t agree with his post. He should let the Army deal with this,” Kelly said. “But I would hope guys, you know, doing something like that \u2014 that\u2019s just kind of a dumb thing to do, flying close to, you know, people\u2019s homes, even when it\u2019s Kid Rock\u2019s. They know they\u2019re not supposed to do that.<\/p>\n “But I would not want to see them punished,” he continued. “I mean, these are patriots that are serving their country and taking a lot of risks with their own lives.”<\/p>\n SEN BLACKBURN FIRES BACK AT DEMOCRATS OVER \u2018DISTURBING\u2019 VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO DEFY ‘ILLEGAL’ ORDERS<\/a><\/p>\n Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington March 19, 2026. (Manuel Balce Ceneta\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n The Department of War pointed Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s initial statement on X announcing that the suspension was lifted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kelly and Hegseth have traded barbs in the last few months after the Democratic senator had taken part in a video \u2014 alongside other Democratic lawmakers \u2014 in which they urged members of the military to refuse to carry out “illegal” orders under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Kelly sued Hegseth<\/a> and the Department of War in January over efforts to demote him and cut his retirement pay for participating in the video.\u00a0<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE<\/a><\/p>\n Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks to members of the media outside federal court in Washington, D.C., Feb. 3, 2026. (Graeme Sloan\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Kelly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kelly-hegseth-agree.jpg\")
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