January 5 (UPI) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the Department of Defense will reduce Sen. Mark Kelly’s retirement pay due to critical comments he made last year.
Hegseth said in a social media post that the department had initiated administrative action against Kelly and sent a letter of reprimand to the Arizona senator. He claimed the video of Kelly calling on service members to refuse illegal orders was “inflammatory.”
“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly and five other members of Congress released a reckless and inflammatory video with the clear intent of undermining good order and military discipline,” Heggs said. “As a retired Navy captain who still collects a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he remains accountable to military justice.”
Hegseth added that the action against Kelly was in response to the video and public statements he made from June to December that criticized “legitimate military operations” and called them “inflammatory in nature.”
Heggs said Kelly has 30 days to respond to the retirement classification process, which will be completed within 45 days.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the Department of Defense will reduce Sen. Mark Kelly’s retirement pay due to critical comments he made last year. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
Other former intelligence officials and congressional service members who appear in related videos include Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Rep. Chris DeLucio, D-Pa., and Rep. Maggie Goodland, D-Pa.
The other members of Congress who appear with Kelly in the video have separated from their service, while Kelly retired from his service, making him subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“Our laws are clear: You can refuse an illegal order,” Kelly said in the video.
Kelly, who served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years, said during a Department of Defense investigation into his remarks that it was an attempt to intimidate him and other members of Congress.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer posted on social media on Monday that Hegseth’s behavior toward Kelly was an act of “political revenge.”
“I stand with Senator Kelly as he will always do the right thing, no matter the consequences,” Schumer wrote.
