Wicker, a mild-mannered Republican who largely eschews media attention, has kept many of his disputes with Trump private, and when he does criticize, it is typically muted or succinct. He offered a simple “no” on Thursday when CNN asked if it would be appropriate for Kelly to be punished by the Pentagon.

Yet Wicker remains one of the most unapologetic defense hawks in the Republican Party, at times creating friction with administration policy, and has given legislative teeth to his disagreements. As chairman of the Armed Services Committee, he is ushering through Congress a defense bill that curbs Trump’s ability to pull troops from Europe and withholds a quarter of Hegseth’s travel budget unless he turns over unedited videos of the administration’s boat strikes.

And even as his GOP counterpart in the House, Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), plans to wind down oversight of a double-tap boat strike that legal experts say could amount to a war crime, Wicker is still pursuing the inquiry, according to Politico.

That sort of scrutiny has spoiled other Republicans’ relationships with Trump, who is quick to turn on those who defy him, and defense hawks who have leveled similar criticism have been met with public rebukes.

When Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) criticized the same draft Ukraine peace deal Wicker warned could invite future Russian aggression, Vice President JD Vance bristled at his “ridiculous attacks.”

Like Wicker, McConnell holds a post of influence as the Senate’s top appropriator for the Pentagon and, ideologically, the two are virtually aligned. Wicker hopes to dramatically boost defense spending at a time when the MAGA Right wants to pull back and is roughly as establishment-minded.

Yet Wicker has drawn virtually no public attacks from the administration and is by all accounts in good standing with Trump. Earlier this year, the president called him a “very good friend of mine” when asked about harsh words Wicker had for Hegseth on Ukraine. One Republican senator on the Armed Services Committee, granted anonymity to speak candidly, described Wicker’s relationship with Trump as about “average.”

There is a key difference between the two men that has allowed Wicker to stave off a similar fate as McConnell. He built up a reservoir of goodwill earlier this year when he helped Trump confirm Hegseth despite a drip, drip of misconduct and drinking allegations that jeopardized his nomination as Pentagon chief.

And though he has regularly criticized Hegseth, Wicker has been careful not to give more fodder to Democrats than he feels is warranted. Earlier this year, Wicker called on the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate the Signalgate incident, in which Hegseth disclosed sensitive military operations over an unsecured chat, but later argued the inspector general report, released last week, effectively exonerated him.

“It is clear from the reports that the Secretary acted within his authority to communicate the information in question to other cabinet level officials,” Wicker said in a statement.

Wicker has also found occasion to praise the administration, most recently siding with Trump at a hearing on his deployment of National Guard members to Democrat-led cities.

“These strategic employments are not only appropriate, but essential,” Wicker said at the outset of the hearing.

By contrast, McConnell, the former Republican leader of the Senate, has made little public effort to repair his relationship with Trump after a falling-out over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and was one of three Republicans to vote against Hegseth’s nomination in January.

That confirmation vote has created a series of headaches for Wicker that have spilled into public view. Wicker criticized Hegseth in February, weeks after he was appointed, for making the “rookie mistake” of saying Ukraine would likely have to give up land to end its war with Russia.

More recently, Wicker is demanding that Hegseth more widely share video of the double-tap boat strike, which apparently targeted shipwreck survivors, with members of his committee.

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A lack of consultation and transparency has been the most persistent complaint by Wicker, who grilled one of Hegseth’s deputies last month over foreign policy decisions he learned about through public reporting.

The defense bill that Congress will soon pass, meanwhile, includes new notification requirements on Hegseth seemingly designed to address some of his more controversial actions, including a purge of senior officials. Among other provisions, the bill requires the Pentagon to inform Congress when those officials are dismissed.