--- description: Find out why Mark Kelly is one of the 100 most influential people of 2026. title: Mark Kelly: The 100 Most Influential People of 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt610fd74ccb6243a0/69dfb51523c6b4a075bccde7/T100-2026-Web-Mark-Kelly-234.png?branch=production --- Apr 15, 2026 # Mark Kelly by [Nik Popli](/author/nik-popli/) ## Nik Popli Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer  Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images [Astronauts](https://time.com/meet-the-twins-unlocking-the-secrets-of-space/ "undefined") are trained to expect turbulence. [Mark Kelly](https://time.com/7336645/mark-kelly-pentagon-investigation-illegal-orders/ "undefined"), the Arizona Senator long removed from his days as a NASA space-shuttle pilot, found himself facing particularly choppy air last year after he helped record a video reminding troops they are not required to follow illegal orders. What might once have passed as a routine assertion of military law triggered a political firestorm. President Donald Trump called the effort “seditious” and “punishable by death,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a Pentagon review aimed at stripping Kelly, a decorated former Navy captain, of his rank and cutting his pension. Kelly refused to back down, suing the Pentagon and emerging as one of the Democratic Party’s most visible antagonists of the Trump Administration. Allies say Kelly, long seen as a disciplined but understated lawmaker, boosted his political standing in the process. Kelly was already on the short list for Vice President in 2024; now Democrats openly discuss his potential in 2028—if not as a presidential contender, perhaps as a future Secretary of Defense. _Popli is a TIME reporter_ Mark Kelly Is on the 2026 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mark-kelly/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mark-kelly/"},"headline":"Mark Kelly","datePublished":"2026-04-15T11:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:31.577Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mark-kelly/","keywords":["TIME 100","list","franchise","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt610fd74ccb6243a0/69dfb51523c6b4a075bccde7/T100-2026-Web-Mark-Kelly-234.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"creator":"Nik Popli","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt610fd74ccb6243a0/69dfb51523c6b4a075bccde7/T100-2026-Web-Mark-Kelly-234.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mark-kelly/","name":"Mark Kelly"}}]}] ```