Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) stepped up his war of words against War Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling him a “12-year-old playing army,” during a press conference on Monday.

Kelly has come under scrutiny from the Trump administration in recent weeks after Hegseth ordered the Navy to investigate his role in a video from Democratic veteran lawmakers that urged servicemembers to refuse unspecified illegal orders. Kelly repudiated the inquiry to reporters on Monday, saying President Donald Trump has a “play” of “bullying his opponents into silence” and railing against Hegseth as “unqualified.”