Transcript: Senator Mark Kelly on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” October 4, 2026

The following is the transcript of the interview with Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, which aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on October 4, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We now turn to Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. He joins us from Charleston, South Carolina, where he is campaigning for his fellow Democrats. Good morning to you, senator.

SEN. MARK KELLY: Hello.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Our CBS poll shows Democrats have reason to be optimistic about winning the House, but how much harder will it be in the Senate?

SEN. KELLY: Well, Margaret, there’s a lot of energy in the states I’ve been to recently. Whether it’s Ohio or Iowa, Kansas, Georgia, and now here in South Carolina, I think we have real opportunities in a lot of places. But also, I mean, it could be, you know, close elections in a lot of these states. But I will tell you this: People are frustrated and they are fed up with Washington, DC right now, and they know that this president is not addressing any of the needs that affect them and their families. I mean, the cost of living is way too high. The price of everything keeps increasing and people can no longer afford to live.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, President Trump announced Friday that he’s going to send $90 payments this month to 20 million older Americans enrolled in Medicare Part B. That’s in addition to sending $500 in checks to the ACA to reimburse a million people. He also said that if the Republicans won, he would send everyone $5,000. Are you in favor of all this? And what exactly is the Democratic message about cutting costs for Americans?

SEN. KELLY: Well, I certainly try to help some working class people and older people on fixed incomes. But we have to remember that this is a guy who gave big tax cuts to the richest Americans, the billionaires and the millionaires, and then, to pay for part of it, he’s kicking people out of their health care, out of Medicaid. He withdraws food benefits from people who struggle to afford food, even children, in order to help his family and friends. So I think people should see this for what it is, particularly this $5,000 payment, if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate. I mean, it’s just a reward, and he’s trying to buy votes. I mean, are you surprised by this president, who, in my opinion, is the most corrupt occupant of the Oval Office ever? I’m not surprised, but it’s not good.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But what is the affirmative Democratic message here, other than that we are not him?

SEN. KELLY: Well, we’re going to lower costs for the American people.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How?

SEN. KELLY: We need to win the House and/or Senate. Well, how are we going to do this? I have legislation with Chris Van Hollen. We must rally the Republicans. It raises taxes for people who make more than $1 million a year and provides tax cuts for individuals, individuals and even couples up to – who make about $160,000 a year – that’s some relief. Ending this war in Iran that he started without any strategic goals or plans has raised costs for the American people – that would help. Reverse this pricing policy, these ridiculous rates which have also driven up prices. The American people are paying for this. For some reason the president thinks foreign countries are paying for these tariffs, which is false. So there are things, many things, that we can do and will do once we win back the House and/or the Senate.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, my understanding is that the Republicans took away funding from the Senate race in North Carolina, they redirected it to Kansas. This is generally not a place a Republican should spend money on to maintain an advantage, but which seats in particular are you optimistic about going blue?

SEN. KELLY: Well, there are a lot. I spent some time in Kansas with Adam Hamilton. He’s a pastor. He’s… he’s a great guy. He’s the right guy for Kansas. He understands what Kansans face. Josh Turek in Iowa, kind of similar situation where it’s a very winnable race. Mary Peltola in Alaska, Troy Jackson in Maine, Sherrod Brown in Ohio. I’m going to do an event, you know, here today with Annie Andrews in South Carolina. Yeah, I understand it’s South Carolina, but she’s a pediatrician, she works incredibly hard, she marshals the resources to succeed. And then there are the races at home. Admiral Nancy Lacore, I hosted an event with her yesterday here in South Carolina – this may be key to Democrats winning back the House of Representatives. She’s a… she’s a three-star admiral, a naval aviator like me, who was fired by Pete Hegseth early in this administration.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, a number of Senate Republicans have expressed some concerns about the firing of Secretary Hegseth. He also announced last week that he would reduce the number of generals and admirals by 20%. According to him, to try to change the culture and what the media calls a purge, it is simply a question of accountability. Do you have any idea who he will target in these cuts, and if the Democrats gain some control, do you have any ability to stop them?

SEN. KELLY: Well, he often fires people because of the color of their skin or because they’re women. He also seems to be looking…

MARGARET BRENNAN: He would deny that.

SEN. MARK KELLY: –loyal- of course he would deny that. I think anyone could deny that. But it’s pretty obvious when you have a list of seven people who don’t move from one star to two stars, and five of them are either black or women. It’s pretty obvious. Also, right from the start, CQ Brown was shot without giving any reason, without any particular reason why one of the most qualified professional aviators, but a four-star general, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, shot. Lisa Francetti…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. KELLY: –chief of naval operations, fired. The coast guard commander, also a woman, was fired. The list goes on, Margaret. This is a pattern with this Secretary of Defense, and it’s detrimental to our preparedness. And when you harm readiness, that means all of us, everyone watching the show, you and your family, are less safe because we have the least qualified Secretary of Defense we’ve ever had in the history of this country.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, he gave a great speech last week. The secretary said each military branch met its recruiting goals before the end of the year. He also says military sexual assaults are declining. I know they’ve been in decline for a few years now, but what’s your response to his argument that he’s doing something right?

SEN. KELLY: Well, he does very few things right. Remember, Margaret, this is a guy who gets on stage in front of the senior leadership of the United States military and talks all over the place about killing people and lethality, and that the rules of engagement – I’m going to paraphrase, but he talks about how he wants to eliminate or reduce the rules of engagement, and you see the consequences of that in Iran. And it was with his plan that we went to Iran, and he bombed or attacked over 15,000 targets, depleting our ammunition reserves. This case has been a disaster because the Secretary of Defense has no idea what he’s doing…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. MARK KELLY: –and to some extent, he’s also a yes-man of the president. No one seems to want to oppose this president, who…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. MARK KELLY: –who I think is prevented from even trying to do this work.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.

SEN. MARK KELLY: We’ve entered another war with no-no-no-plan and no-explain-explain to the American people what we’re going to get out of it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but my time is up, I have to leave it at that. THANKS. We’ll be back right away.