Sen. Mark Kelly is facing a Pentagon legal review after the U.S. Navy submitted a report outlining potential punishment options tied to a video in which he and other Democratic lawmakers told service members they have a duty to refuse “illegal orders.”
A Defense Department official said the Navy’s report has been sent to the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel, where lawyers are now conducting a legal review and providing input.
Kelly’s office responded forcefully, directing criticism at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who ordered the review. “It defies belief that with all of the threats facing our country, Pete Hegseth initiated this ridiculous process to try to intimidate Senator Kelly for saying something Pete Hegseth himself has said repeatedly,” Kelly’s spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.
The spokesperson added that Kelly was never contacted or notified about the Navy’s report and insisted the process would not affect his work in the Senate. “It sure as hell won’t stop him from doing his job representing Arizona, whether that is voting today to lower health care costs or making sure our service members have what they need to do a very difficult job,” the statement said. It went on to say that Hegseth and President Donald Trump “could do themselves a big favor and learn about our country’s history, the Constitution and the rule of law.”
Kelly, a retired Navy captain, has leaned on his military record as the controversy has grown. He served several decades in the Navy, deployed twice to the Persian Gulf, and later worked as an instructor at the Naval Pilot School.
The video at the center of the dispute was released in November and featured Kelly and other lawmakers addressing U.S. service members directly. The group emphasized that members of the military are bound by the Constitution and are obligated to refuse unlawful commands. “You must refuse illegal orders,” the lawmakers said, stressing that no one is required to carry out orders that violate the law.
The Pentagon announced in late November that it had received what it described as “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly and had initiated a “thorough review.” The Defense Department did not detail what specific violations it believed may have occurred, but said the process would examine whether the video crossed legal or ethical boundaries.
The issue has also drawn attention because of past comments by Hegseth himself in which Hegseth argued that U.S. troops have a responsibility to refuse unlawful orders.
Punishing a sitting U.S. senator over political speech may raise complex constitutional questions. The Pentagon has not publicly outlined what penalties could apply, nor has it said whether the review could lead to formal disciplinary action.
The Navy has completed its assessment and handed the matter to Pentagon lawyers. Whether the review results in further action or quietly concludes now rests with the Defense Department’s leadership and legal counsel.
Regardless, Kelly has remained defiant and said he won’t be intimidated by Trump’s rhetoric after he called for the senator to be executed.
