Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a letter of censure and moved to demote retired captain and sitting Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) over a video he and other lawmakers made warning service members not to carry out illegal orders.
Hegseth announced the decision on Monday, saying that 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.” He also issued a letter of censure, which he said will be in Kelly’s permanent military personnel file.
There was a possibility the review could result in Hegseth recalling Kelly to active duty to court-martial him, though he made no mention of it in his Monday announcement.
Kelly and five other Democrats, who had either served in the military or intelligence community, participated in the video, which was released in November 2025. In the video, they specifically reminded service members of their legal obligation not to follow illegal orders, though Hegseth and President Donald Trump have accused them of trying to sow doubts to have service members question their orders.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) were in the video as well.
Hegseth said Kelly — the only one of the group still under the Uniform Code of Military Justice — violated Articles 133 and 144. Article 133 is about “conduct unbecoming an officer,” and Article 144 is more of a broad catch-all of more than 50 unique criminal offenses.
Kelly now has 30 days to submit a response.
“Almost anything can fall into the nebulous of conduct unbecoming of an officer as long as it’s considered something that’s bringing dishonor or discredit to the military,” Sean Timmons, the managing partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC with a focus on military law, previously told the Washington Examiner.
PENTAGON ANNOUNCES ‘THOROUGH REVIEW’ INTO MARK KELLY OVER ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ VIDEO
Hegseth did not specifically mention Article 94 of the UCMJ, which is the statute regarding “sedition,” defined as having the “with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of lawful civil authority, creates, in concert with any other person, revolt, violence, or other disturbance against that authority is guilty of sedition.”
