Democrat Senator Mark Kelly escalated his war of words with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth this week, vowing he may confront the Trump administration official in the Secretary of Wars face over what he angrily denounced as bullshit censure and pension cuts tied to his conduct as a retired Navy officer.
According to Gateway Pundit, Hegseth on Monday formally censured Kelly and moved to slash his military retirement pay, citing a seditious video in which the Arizona Democrat urged service members to defy President Trumps lawful authority as commander in chief.
Kelly is one of the so?called Seditious Six, a group of Democrat lawmakers who publicly encouraged members of the armed forces to reject what they labeled illegal orders, a message critics say was designed to sow doubt and disobedience within the ranks.
In November, without identifying any specific unlawful directive, Senators Elissa Slotkin (D?MI) and Mark Kelly (D?AZ), along with Reps. Maggie Goodlander (NH), Jason Crow (CO), Chris Deluzio (PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (PA), repeatedly declared in a viral video, You can refuse illegal orders, and, You must refuse illegal orders.
The Department of War had already signaled it was weighing the extraordinary step of recalling Kelly to active duty for potential court?martial over his call for the military to defy President Trumps orders.
On Monday, Hegseth announced he would instead pursue administrative punishment, moving to demote Kelly in retired rank and cut his pension, while stopping shortfor nowof convening a court?martial.
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 is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War and the American people expect justice, Hegseth said.
Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kellys seditious statements and his pattern of reckless misconduct the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret). The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay, Hegseth said.
To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kellys reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kellys official and permanent military personnel file, Hegseth added.
The move underscores the Trump administrations insistence that retired officers who leverage their rank to undermine civilian command will still be held to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a principle conservatives argue is essential to preserving discipline and constitutional order.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kelly shifted to questioning President Trumps order to strike Venezuela and capture Nicols Maduro, again positioning himself in opposition to the administrations foreign policy.policy decisions. He simultaneously lashed out at Hegseths disciplinary action, branding the censure bullshit and signaling he is prepared to turn a policy dispute into a personal confrontation.
So [Hegseths] option, right now, is he can continue with this kind of bullshit, or he can go take a hike. Thats his options. And if I have an opportunity to tell him that tomorrow, maybe I will, Mark Kelly said to CNNs Manu Raju and others.
As the Seditious Six controversy widens, the clash highlights a stark divide between a commander in chief determined to reassert civilian control over a politicized military and Democrat lawmakers who appear willing to erode that norm, even at the cost of their own standing in uniform.
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