Pete Hegseth censures Sen. Mark Kelly over call to refuse 'illegal orders'

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jan 5, 2026

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Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was hit with a censure letter from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday and could face a demotion and pension cut over a video message he made urging troops to refuse to carry out illegal orders.

Hegseth called the official letter to the retired Navy pilot and astronaut “a necessary process step” ahead of proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly’s rank of retired captain and a cut in the pension he receives.

“Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth tweeted, adding that Kelly’s remarks amounted to conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Kelly responded by vowing to fight Hegseth’s effort to punish him, calling it “outrageous” and “un-American.”

“I will fight this with everything I’ve got,” said Kelly. “Not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government.”

Democrats have previously noted that Hegseth has himself made similar remarks in the past.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Hegseth’s actions “a despicable act of political retribution.”

“Mark Kelly is a hero and a patriot committed to serving the American people,” Schumer tweeted.

The Pentagon move comes several weeks after Kelly led five other Democratic lawmakers in creating a social media video that called on troops to defy “illegal orders.”

The 90-second video was first tweeted by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. The six lawmakers, including Kelly and Slotkin, spoke directly to service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”

The lawmakers, all military or national security agency veterans, did not specify what orders they might believe could be illegal. Many analysts have questioned the legal basis of Trump’s military campaign of attacks against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Days after the video’s release, President Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition in a post on his social media site, noting that sedition is “punishable by DEATH.”

The Pentagon unveiled the probe of Kelly last November, citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court martial or other measures.

Kelly is the only one facing investigation because he is the only one of the six lawmakers who formally retired from the military and is still under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction, Hegseth said.

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