Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will censure Sen. Mark Kelly for his involvement in a video urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders.
The move comes after the president accused six Democratic lawmakers in a video last November of “sedition, punishable by death!”
In response to the video last year, Hegseth threatened to court-martial the veteran and asked the Navy to review Kelly’s conduct for “possible unlawful misconduct.”
On Monday, the defense secretary announced the results of the review, which does not involve recalling Kelly from service to face court-martial proceedings but does require “administrative action.”
Senator Mark Kelly speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on December 1, 2025, responding to intimidating behavior by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pete Hegseth after participating in a video.
Hegseth said the Pentagon initiated the retirement classification process to demote the Arizona congressman.
The Army uses such procedures to determine the appropriate retirement grade for officers. It usually occurs before retirement. Hegseth said the process will be completed within 45 days.
Kelly retired as a Navy captain in 2011. A demotion would likely reduce his retirement pay.
The senator fired back in a statement, noting that he served in the Navy for more than 25 years, flying 39 combat missions and four space missions.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send a message to every retired military member that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will be hunted down in the same way,” Kelly warned. “It’s outrageous and it’s wrong. There’s nothing more un-American than that.”
Hegseth also announced that as part of the process, he issued a “formal letter of reprimand” that will be included in Kelly’s military personnel file.
The senator has 30 days to respond to the Department of Defense.
“I will fight this with all my might, not for myself, but to send a message that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump do not get to decide what Americans in this country think of their government,” Kelly said in a statement.
The Democratic lawmaker accused Trump of calling for his execution and has said he would not give in to threats from the president or Hegseth.
In November, six lawmakers, all veterans and former intelligence officials, appeared in a video urging service members to unequivocally reject “unlawful orders.” The video does not make it clear what constitutes an unlawful order.
Although the president accused Democratic lawmakers of inciting the insurrection in a series of posts on the Truth Society website, the White House insisted that Trump, 79, was not calling for their execution but that they should be held accountable.
The confrontation sparked a series of attacks on Kelly on social media from Hegseth, who sent a memo to the Navy secretary calling for a review of the congressman’s conduct by mid-December.
Before joining the Trump administration, Hegseth himself said the U.S. military would not carry out illegal orders, a message similar to what Kelly conveyed in the video.
The defense secretary and senators met face-to-face at a closed briefing last month to discuss the Trump administration’s targeting of suspected drug ships off the coast of Venezuela, where they reportedly clashed.
After the briefing, Kelly said on CNN that Hegseth appeared to have prepared a speech for him during the briefing rather than wanting to answer his questions about the ship attack. The senator said it showed how “unserious” Hegers was.
