Rep. Pat Ryan, D-NY., argued Thursday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outdid his Saturday Night Live caricature when he reversed the punishment of two U.S. Army pilots who hovered Apache helicopters near musician Kid Rock’s Tennessee mansion in March.
“Secretary Hegseth exceeded his SNL character’s ridiculousness when he made a deeply problematic and pathetic decision” to undo the pilots’ suspensions, Ryan said.
Ryan made the comments while attempting to add an amendment to the House’s version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would require Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to brief the House Armed Services Committee about why the investigation into the pilots was canceled.
The measure failed on a vote of 25-32.
“This amendment is really just about doing the right thing, which is getting answers on both what happened but also understanding why the secretary killed this investigation. … Is there something deeper he might be hiding or covering up?” Ryan said.
He described the Army flyby as “inappropriate,” “dangerous” and “a massive waste of money.”
“Not to mention, it’s in the middle of a war,” Ryan said.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the committee chairman, encouraged committee members to strike down the proposal.
“I’m not sure what we gain from a congressional investigation,” Rogers said.
Ryan retorted that the amendment called for a briefing to the committee, and not a new investigation.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Richard James Ritchie, posted two videos in March showing him waving to an Apache helicopter as it lingered near the pool outside of his Nashville estate.
Quickly after, the Army confirmed that two Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, had taken part in the flight and said the soldiers involved had been suspended while the event was investigated.
“The Army takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable,” Army spokesperson Maj. Montrell Russell said in a statement at the time.
In a post on social media, Hegseth thanked Kid Rock and said “pilots suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.”
The following month, Hegseth and Kid Rock took a ride in an Apache helicopter around the Washington, D.C., area, The New York Times reported.
“We’re not asking for much here, just a briefing on why Secretary Hegseth canceled the Army’s investigation,” said Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif., before the measure was struck down. “To my knowledge, he has never actually explained it.”
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.