Hegseth Moves To Strip Mark Kelly Of Rank And Pay Over ‘Seditious’ Military Video

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is making it crystal clear: wearing a suit in the halls of Congress doesn’t give you a free pass to spark a mutiny.

Hegseth announced a major escalation in the Department of War’s investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), directing a formal censure letter to be placed in the retired Navy captain’s permanent file. More importantly for Kelly’s pocketbook, Hegseth has ordered a 45-day review of the senator’s retirement rank and pay. The move follows “reckless and seditious” statements by Kelly that the administration says were intended to undermine military discipline.

“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth stated. He reminded the Arizona Democrat that, as a retired officer still drawing a pension, he remains firmly under the thumb of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

The controversy stems from a video released in November titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” in which Kelly and a cohort of left-wing Democrats who are veterans urged service members to “refuse unlawful orders.”

We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.

The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.

Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r

— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025

The Department of War points out that Kelly failed to cite a single actual “illegal” order, adding that Kelly used his military credentials to baselessly sow seeds of insubordination against the Trump administration’s efforts to secure the border and target suspected narco-terrorists.

Kelly, appearing at a town hall in Tucson in early December, remained defiant — and personal. He mocked President Donald Trump as “asleep at the wheel” and dismissed Hegseth as a “joke,” boasting that he won’t “back down.” Kelly’s wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), reportedly “laughed and laughed” at the prospect of a UCMJ prosecution.

But Hegseth isn’t laughing. Federal law prohibits any action intended to interfere with the loyalty or morale of the armed forces, carrying a potential ten-year prison sentence. While Kelly claims he is “standing up for the Constitution,” the administration argues he is hiding behind a shield of “legal gymnastics” to encourage mutiny. Kelly has 30 days to respond before the Navy decides just how much his “seditious” rhetoric will cost him.