Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona pledged to “fight” back after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced administrative actions against the retired Navy captain for his involvement in a [content] urging U.S. troops to refuse unlawful orders.
“Over 25 years in the U.S. Navy, 39 combat missions, and four space missions, I put my life on the line for this nation and to protect our Constitution—including the First Amendment rights of every American to voice their opinions,” Kelly stated in a post on X on Monday. “I never imagined the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would target me for doing precisely that.”
“If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our nation’s history, believes he can intimidate me with a censure or threats of demotion or prosecution, he still doesn’t grasp the situation,” he continued. “I will combat this with all I have—not for myself, but to convey a message that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump do not get to dictate what Americans can say about their government.”
Kelly shared his statement shortly after Hegseth posted on X that his department was launching proceedings against Kelly, which could result in a reduction of the Senator’s military pension, and that he had issued a “formal Letter of Censure” to “secure this action.” The letter, Hegseth noted, “details the full extent of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct” and will be added to the retired captain’s “official and permanent military personnel file.”
“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly—and five other members of Congress—released a reckless and seditious video clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said. “As a retired Navy Captain still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly understands he remains accountable to military justice. And the Department of War—and the American people—demand justice.”
Hegseth was referencing a [content] that Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers—all of whom had military or national security service prior to entering office—posted in November, in which they told members of the military and intelligence community that “no one is required to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
The politicians did not specify in the video what types of orders, if any, prompted this message. However, President Donald Trump’s use of the U.S. military during his second term has sparked debate among lawmakers and legal experts, including the [content] his Administration has authorized on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that it has [content] were carrying narcotics.
Trump and his Administration expressed fury over the video. The President [content] it “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” The Department of Defense [content] in November that it would investigate Kelly for potential military law violations. Legal experts, however, [content] that nothing the six Democrats said in the video was “seditious” or “illegal,” and that there was no basis for the department to open an investigation into Kelly over the video.
“They did not advocate for unlawful action,” Brenner Fissell, a law professor at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and vice president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said at the time, referring to the six Democrats in the video. “They were not encouraging defiance of lawful orders; they were encouraging defiance of unlawful orders. And that aligns with the law.”
Nonetheless, Hegseth maintained on Monday that the video was “seditious.” He stated that Kelly has 30 days to submit a response to the Department of Defense, and his retirement grade status will be determined within 45 days.
“Captain Kelly’s position as a sitting U.S. Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could lead to additional measures,” Hegseth said.
In his statement, Kelly highlighted his decades of service and criticized the Trump Administration for unfairly targeting him.
“My rank and retirement benefits are things I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country,” he said. “I faced enemy fire. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head—all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of service members have made these same patriotic sacrifices for our country, earning the respect, gratitude, and rank they deserve.”
“Pete Hegseth aims to send a message to every retired service member: if you say something he or Donald Trump dislikes, they will come after you in the same manner,” Kelly continued. “It’s outrageous and wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”