Sen. Mark Kelly Sues Pete Hegseth Over Military Rank Demotion Due To Viral ‘Illegal Orders’ Video

Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday — challenging Hegseth’s move to demote Kelly’s military rank after the senator told service members to defy the Trump administration’s “illegal orders.”

Kelly’s lawsuit, which was docketed in Washington D.C., claims Hegseth’s efforts to demote his rank following his November 2025 appearance in a viral video violates the Constitution’s speech or debate clause. Kelly argued in a statement announcing the suit that the executive branch has never before sought to impose military sanctions on a U.S. lawmaker over saying “something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like.” (RELATED: Pete Hegseth Takes Action Against Sen. Mark Kelly, Who Egged On Military To Defy Trump In Viral Video)

Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through 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 is to hold him—and this or any administration—accountable. His unconstitutional…

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) January 12, 2026

“Now, Pete Hegseth wants our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and pay years or even decades after they leave the military just because he or another Secretary of Defense doesn’t like what they’ve said,” Kelly said in his statement. “That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it.”

Hegseth’s move 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 the social media calling on U.S. military and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders.”

House Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who are all military veterans, were also in the video.

President Donald Trump called the video “seditious behavior” and Hegseth dubbed the half dozen Democratic lawmakers, the “Seditious Six.”

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