By Emmanuel Bobby
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., filed a lawsuit Monday against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon, alleging that their move to censure and demote him is “unlawful and unconstitutional.”
The legal challenge follows Hegseth’s announcement last week that the Pentagon was taking steps to downgrade Kelly’s military retirement rank and reduce his pension. Hegseth cited what he described as Kelly’s “seditious statements,” referring to a video released by Kelly and other retired service members urging active-duty troops to refuse illegal orders.
Kelly’s lawsuit argues that Hegseth’s actions violate the senator’s First Amendment rights as well as the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which protects lawmakers from punishment for official acts.
“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the lawsuit states. It seeks a court order declaring the Pentagon’s actions unlawful.
“Allowing Defendants to punish a Senator through military proceedings for his political speech erodes the separation of powers and gives the Executive a power over legislators that the Constitution does not contemplate,” the filing adds.
The suit also contends that the administration responded to Kelly’s remarks with “extreme rhetoric and punitive retribution,” noting that both Hegseth and President Donald Trump labeled his comments as “sedition” and “treason.” Those statements, the lawsuit argues, deprived Kelly of due process.
In a statement, Kelly said the effort to penalize him threatens fundamental rights.
“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,” Kelly said. “This unconstitutional crusade sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something the President or the Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”
Speaking on the Senate floor Monday, Kelly warned that allowing the action to stand would give defense secretaries sweeping power over the speech of retired veterans.
“If Pete Hegseth succeeds in silencing me, then he and every other secretary of defense who comes after him will have license to punish any retired veteran, of any political persuasion, for the things that they say,” Kelly said. He added that, under such logic, even a centenarian World War II veteran could face punishment for expressing views a defense secretary disagrees with.
Asked about the lawsuit, a Pentagon spokesperson said in an email that the department was aware of the litigation but does not comment on ongoing legal matters.
Hegseth has defended the Pentagon’s actions, saying last week that Kelly and five other Democratic members of Congress — all retired from the military or intelligence services — released what he called a “reckless and seditious video” intended to undermine military discipline.
“As a retired Navy captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. “The Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”
In a letter recommending that Kelly’s rank and pension be reduced, Hegseth said the action was based on comments Kelly made between June and December 2025, during which he allegedly described lawful military operations as illegal and advised service members to refuse lawful orders.
The video released by Kelly and the other retired officials urged current military and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders.”
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