Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will censure Senator Mark Kelly after he participated in a video urging members of the military to reject illegal orders.
The move comes after the president in November accused a group of six Democratic lawmakers in the video of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
In response to the video last year, Hegseth threatened to court-martial the combat veteran and demanded the Navy review Kelly’s actions for “potentially unlawful misconduct.”
On Monday, the defense secretary announced the results of the review, which would not involve recalling Kelly back to service to face military court proceedings but would require “administrative action.”
The Pentagon initiated retirement-grade determination proceedings to demote the Arizona lawmaker, according to Hegseth.
The military carries out such proceedings to determine the appropriate retirement grade for an officer. It typically takes place before retirement. Hegseth said the process would take place within 45 days.
Kelly retired as a Navy captain in 2011. A demotion could cut his retirement pay.
The senator fired back in a statement where he noted his more than 25 years in the Navy, 39 combat missions and four missions to space.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly warned. “It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”
Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) January 5, 2026
Hegseth also announced that he issued a “formal Letter of Censure” as part of the process, which would be included in Kelly’s military personnel file.
The senator has been given 30 days to respond to the Defense Department.
“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,” Kelly said in his statement.
The Democratic lawmaker has accused Trump of calling for his execution and perviously said he would not back down to threats by the president or Hegseth.
In November, the six lawmakers, all military veterans and former intelligence officers, appeared in a video urging service members to specifically reject “illegal orders.” The video did not clarify exactly what constituted an illegal order.
Despite the president’s series of Truth Social posts accusing the Democratic lawmakers of sedition, the White House insisted Trump,79, was not calling for their execution but that they should be held accountable.
The clash sparked a series of attacks by Hegseth against Kelly on social media, as he issued a memo to the Navy secretary, calling for a review of the lawmaker’s conduct by mid-December.
Before joining the Trump administration, Hegseth himself said the U.S. military would not follow illegal orders, a message similar to the one Kelly delivered in the video.
The defense secretary and senator came face-to-face last month at a closed-door briefing on the Trump administration’s targeting of alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela, where they reportedly clashed.
Kelly went on CNN after the briefing, where he said that Hegeth appeared to have prepared a speech for him at the briefing rather than wanting to answer his questions about the boat strikes. The senator said it showed how “unserious” Hegseth is.
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