Sen. Mark Kelly Sues Pete Hegseth Over Military Rank Demotion Due To Viral ‘Illegal Orders’ Video
Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit Monday against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, challenging Hegseth’s decision to demote Kelly’s military rank after the senator told the military to defy “unlawful orders” from the Trump administration.
Kelly’s lawsuit, which was filed in Washington, D.C., claims that Hegseth’s efforts to demote his rank after his November 2025 appearance in a viral video violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. Kelly argued in a statement announcing the lawsuit that the executive branch has never sought to impose military sanctions on a U.S. lawmaker for saying “something the president or secretary of defense doesn’t like.” (RELATED: Pete Hegseth takes action against Sen. Mark Kelly, who incited military to defy Trump in viral video)
Pete Hegseth is coming after what I have earned in my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job it is to hold him, this or any administration accountable. Its unconstitutionality…
– Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) January 12, 2026
“Now Pete Hegseth wants our longest-serving veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be stripped of their rank and pay years, if not decades, after leaving the military, simply because he or another Secretary of Defense doesn’t like what they said,” Kelly said in his statement. “This is not how things work in the United States of America, and I will not tolerate it.”
Hegseth’s decision to demote the senator comes after five other Democrats, including Kelly’s colleague, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former intelligence officer, posted a video on social media calling on U.S. military and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders.”
Also present in the video were House Representatives Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, all of whom are military veterans.
President Donald Trump called the video “seditious behavior” and Hegseth dubbed the half-dozen Democratic lawmakers the “Seditious Six.”
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