Hegseth escalates his war against Sen. Mark Kelly’s words

Published December 16, 2025 7:36am ET



HEGSETH ‘ESCALATES’ FEUD WITH KELLY: It’s unclear if the Navy’s review of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) resulted in any recommendation for court martial or administrative discipline for what War Secretary Pete Hegseth deemed “seditious” speech. Hegseth is taking his campaign to punish the retired Navy captain and astronaut to the next level — an ‘official command investigation.’”

While the video message Kelly and five fellow Democrats posted on social media last month reminded U.S. military members of their duty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to “refuse illegal orders,” Hegeth and President Donald Trump said because it was not clear what orders they were referencing, the message amounted to a call for troops to on their own volition to disobey any orders they didn’t like.

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