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:
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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.
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