Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said Republican lawmakers are prioritizing their own job security over standing up to President Donald Trump, arguing during an appearance on ABC's "The View" on Tuesday that many in the GOP "will not stand up" to the president because they fear he could end their Senate careers. Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former NASA astronaut who first won his Senate seat in a 2020 special election, spoke as voters in his battleground home state and across the country look ahead to the November midterms.

Kelly joined the show's roundtable to share his hopes and concerns about what could happen after the midterm elections, when every seat in the House of Representatives and roughly one-third of the Senate will be on the ballot. He said significant work will be required moving forward regardless of who holds office, and that it comes down to whether politicians possess a genuine conscience and dedication to the American people.

When co-host Sara Haines asked whether Democrats should prioritize investigating the Trump administration or addressing affordability if they regain control of the House in the midterms, Kelly argued that the choice is more complicated than it appears. The party holding a chamber's majority controls its committee chairmanships and subpoena power, giving the question concrete stakes for how both oversight and lawmaking would proceed.

“I don’t think this election is about Democrats or Republicans,” Kelly said. “It’s about electing people who are going to stand with the American people, or people who are going to stand with the elite [which includes] big corporations, the wealthiest Americans and Donald Trump and his friends. The Republicans currently in Congress won’t stand up to this guy.”

He added: “We need to elect people who are going to do what the American people need them to do, like bring down costs and address issues of affordable healthcare and food security. Right now we have half of the country having a problem affording food.”

Co-host Joy Behar pressed Kelly to elaborate on his claim that Republicans refuse to stand up to Trump and why he believes that is the case. Kelly responded that, in his view, most Republicans are focused on their own job security and what serves their personal interests, rather than the larger issues at stake.

“Many have had this dream of being US senators since they were kids,” he asserted. “It is pathetic, and they think he [Trump] can cost them their position in the US Senate, so they will not stand up to him.” If the political landscape shifts in the election, Kelly suggested, Republicans may ultimately “grow a spine.”

Whoopi Goldberg noted that any Democrats elected would need to be capable of repairing some of the damage done by the current administration. Kelly agreed, pointing specifically to the Department of Justice.

“The damage is significant, especially at the DOJ,” he said. “They’ve purged a whole generation of leaders, folks they don’t deem as sufficiently loyal. They’ve fired people because of their gender and the color of their skin. Black people and women got fired. And those were fantastic leaders, and it’s hard to replace them.”