Pete Hegseth Moves Against Senator Mark Kelly
But the Navy veteran insists that he’ll continue to speak out against illegal military orders.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at a press conference following US military actions in Venezuela, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, on January 3, 2026.
(Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to investigate and perhaps even court-martial Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, after he joined five other Democrats on a video advising military personnel that they have a right to refuse illegal orders from their commanders last November.
On Monday, Hegseth formally “censured” Kelly and announced that his military pension would be reduced. “[Kelly] released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said in a statement. Kelly could also face a reduction in his retirement rank from captain, he added. But so far Hegseth has made no moves toward beginning a court-martial proceeding.
The preening former Fox News host was fresh off standing next to President Trump as he announced the illegal capture of Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on charges of narcotrafficking (and the clear subtext of mishandling the country’s oil resources). The months-long, large-scale military and intelligence action in Venezuela served to prove that, so far, not many US security personnel are listening to Kelly and his veteran colleagues about the imperative to refuse illegal orders. There may well be more opportunities, as Trump says he may follow his Venezuela moves with similar measures against Cuba, Colombia, Greenland, and even Mexico.
Kelly shot back at Hegseth quickly Monday morning on X, citing his 25 years in the Navy, 39 combat missions and four missions to space “to defend the Constitution, including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that.”
He went on:
If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified secretary of defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — 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.
The five other Democratic members of Congress with military and security backgrounds who joined Kelly on the video are Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, Representatives Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania. After the video’s release, Trump said on Truth Social that the security veterans’ actions could be “punishable by DEATH.”
Because the other five gave up their military careers rather than retiring with their rank intact and a pension, they aren’t subject to the same military discipline Kelly is.
US Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton has repeatedly warned against Hegseth’s politicizing the military, pointing to his decisions to replace the head of the joint chiefs of staff and top Army and Navy leaders as “reminiscent of Stalin,” the Soviet leader who purged countless military officials and replaced them with men whose top loyalty was to him.
Trump, of course, has tried to retaliate against other political foes, including former FBI director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and California Senator Adam Schiff, but so far judges and grand juries have resisted his maneuvers (which hasn’t stopped Trump from trying to come after them again).
For now some news accounts have suggested that Hegseth has backed down on the court-martial threat against Kelly, but the secretary insists he is continuing to examine his options, especially if Kelly continues to encourage the military to ignore illegal orders. Kelly’s Monday statement gave no sign that he plans to stop criticizing Trump and Hegseth and their illegal orders to the military anytime soon.
Support independent journalism that does not fall in line
Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets.
Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.
As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war.
In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth.
The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more.
But this journalism is possible only with your support.
This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?
More from The Nation
Trump’s War in Iran Opens a Foreign Policy Debate Democrats Can No Longer Avoid Trump’s War in Iran Opens a Foreign Policy Debate Democrats Can No Longer Avoid
The war is forcing Democrats to confront a question they have long deferred: whether the party can offer a coherent anti-war alternative to Washington’s foreign policy consensus.
Disastrous Tides of Fortune Disastrous Tides of Fortune
The consequences of US actions on other nations.
Should Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Run for President in 2028? Should Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Run for President in 2028?
David Faris argues that the New York representative is the new national leader the Democrats need, but Daraka Larimore-Hall claims she can get more done in Congress.
Is AIPAC Doomed? Is AIPAC Doomed?
The hard-line pro-Israel lobby is facing more opposition than ever before. But fully defanging it won’t be easy.
A Trial by Fire for Tisch and Mamdani, New York’s Premier Odd Couple A Trial by Fire for Tisch and Mamdani, New York’s Premier Odd Couple
How this weekend’s failed attack outside Gracie Mansion could reinforce the strange-bedfellows alliance between the mayor and the police commissioner.
Anthropic’s Lawsuit Should Absolutely Destroy the Pentagon in Court Anthropic’s Lawsuit Should Absolutely Destroy the Pentagon in Court
But make no mistake: The company is not one of the good guys.
