Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently got into a heated exchange with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly regarding the US military's air strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Per PunchBowl News, Hegseth was briefing members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday when Kelly, a former Navy captain, pressed him on the legalities of the strikes, as Washington has not provided evidence to back their drug smuggling claims.

In response, Hegseth reportedly chastised Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers for a video they released last month in which they advised US military and intelligence personnel to refuse any illegal orders from President Donald Trump's administration.

Kelly then interrupted Hegseth, arguing that the Defense Secretary's response was not relevant to his original question.

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The two then got into it, with Kelly reportedly calling Hegseth out for publicly saying in 2016 that it would be problematic for Trump to order troops to follow illegal orders.

ABC News reports that after the meeting, Kelly told the media, "This is all a bunch of bulls**t."

"This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members, government employees – do not speak out against this president, or there will be consequences," he added.

Following the release of the video from Democrats, Hegseth ordered an investigation into Kelly specifically for "potentially unlawful conduct," and on Tuesday, the Pentagon said it was "escalating" the investigation to an official "command investigation."

In recent months, Hegseth and the entire Trump administration have continued to face backlash over a series of recent missile strikes targeting boats with alleged drug smugglers, mainly in the Caribbean Sea.

In one particular strike on September 2, a US admiral under Hegseth's authority reportedly ordered a "double-tap" to kill survivors of an initial strike – reports of which have triggered accusations of a possible war crime.

On Tuesday, Hegseth revealed that he has no intention to release the "double tap" video to the public, but said it would be shown to members of appropriate congressional committees.