The day Monday, Senator Mark Kelly was on the hot seat when Army Secretary Pete Hegseth fired back after the Pentagon said it was looking into “serious allegations of misconduct” amid a video that Kelly and five other Democrats had released. In the clip, the Democratic lawmakers urged active‑duty members to “refuse illegal orders,” a stance that sparked a fierce exchange on CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt. “You will never, ever, ever even be half the man that Sen. Kelly is,” former Marine Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona declared, then went on to say, “You, sir, are a coward! And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. And I can’t wait till you no longer are the Secretary of Defense.”
President Trump had called for the arrest of six lawmakers on November 20 in a statement labeling the video “SEDICTIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.” The six were Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. Hegseth, in announcing the probe, dubbed the group the “Seditious Six,” calling the video “despicable, reckless, and false” before adding that Kelly’s conduct “brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately.” He also noted that as a retired Navy officer, Kelly was the only member of the cohort subject to War Department discipline.
Afterward, Hegseth posted a video on social media in which he ranted at the secretary. Gallego countered in the same clip, arguing that the lawmakers were simply doing their duty and reminding service members of their rights. He said, “There’s no reason why they’re going after him. He was doing his duty and just reminding people about their rights as service members. And Secretary Hegseth, all these guys—f— you guys. You’re not gonna be able to scare us. We have a right to defend the Constitution of the United States. We have the right to tell other service members that they have a right to ignore illegal orders, and you’re not going to be able to intimidate us.”
In a separate appearance on MS NOW that Monday night, Kelly maintained that his remarks were “pretty simple and non‑controversial.” Speaking on The Rachel Maddow Show, he recounted Trump’s threat, “I said … that members of the military should follow the law, and in response, Donald Trump said I should be executed, I should be hanged, I should be prosecuted.” He added that the president even suggested a mob be sent after him and the others, concluding that the real issue was Trump’s avoidance of accountability, not any wrongdoing on the part of the senators.
None of the six Democrats have identified a specific White House or Pentagon order they view as immoral, but both Slotkin and Crow have drafted bills that would limit Trump’s authority to deploy the National Guard in domestic cities and to carry out sea‑based strikes against suspected drug traffickers.
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