Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, astronaut, and Arizona Democrat, has found himself at the center of a fierce national debate after posting a video with five fellow lawmakers—each with military or intelligence backgrounds—urging U.S. military personnel to reject illegal orders. The video, released in late November 2025, was a direct response to statements from former President Donald Trump, who, according to Kelly, has repeatedly implied he expects the military to comply with orders that may violate the law.
The message was clear: members of the armed forces are bound by both domestic and international law and must refuse unlawful commands. Yet, the reaction from Trump and his supporters was anything but subdued. As reported by several outlets, including Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, Trump and his allies labeled Kelly and his colleagues "seditious," with some going so far as to suggest the appropriate punishment was "DEATH!" The uproar only intensified when Kelly, undeterred by threats, doubled down on his stance in a series of high-profile television appearances.
"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 stated on December 2, 2025, addressing the death threats publicly. "I have given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution." He continued to assert his position across several platforms, including Rachel Maddow, State of the Union, Meet the Press, and Morning Joe, all between December 1 and December 3.
On State of the Union, Kelly was especially pointed: "We have a president who doesn’t understand the Constitution, who installed an unqualified Secretary of Defense. I cannot think of a Secretary of Defense in the history of our country that is less qualified than Pete Hegseth. He should not be in this position. He should have been fired after Signalgate." When pressed further, Kelly insisted, "These guys don’t scare me. They’re not serious people. I mean, the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. Neither of them."
Kelly’s criticisms didn’t stop at Trump. He lambasted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, describing him as “manifestly unqualified” and drawing attention to the so-called “Signalgate” scandal. According to Kelly, the Pentagon Inspector General found that Hegseth had inappropriately used an unclassified system—specifically the messaging app Signal—to share sensitive operational details. As Kelly told The Wall Street Journal on December 4, "Hegseth should not be using his cellphone and putting … this kind of information on an unclassified system." The Inspector General’s report, as described by Kelly, concluded that if intercepted, the information could have put service members and missions at risk. Hegseth, for his part, declined to be interviewed by the Inspector General, instead submitting a written statement in which he claimed to have intentionally declassified only non-sensitive information, a claim the report disputed.
The controversy deepened following the military’s September 2 strikes, which allegedly killed shipwrecked survivors who posed no threat to Americans. Kelly demanded a full inquiry into the incident and, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pledged to lead oversight efforts. He emphasized the importance of understanding international law: “Folks in the military need to understand… the Law of the Sea, the Geneva Conventions, what the law says. If there were survivors ‘clinging to a damaged vessel’ a strike would be ‘over a line,’” he observed. On December 3, Kelly revealed on Morning Joe that the Pentagon lawyer who briefed Congress on the incident had failed to mention a second strike, describing the briefing as evasive and incomplete. “He didn’t share all the information with us,” Kelly said. “We asked a bunch of questions. They seemed to me to be sort of evasive. Their legal analysis about this entire operation has a bunch of holes in it.”
Kelly’s outspokenness drew both praise and condemnation. Among his most vocal critics was ESPN host Stephen A. Smith, who launched a spirited attack on Kelly during his XM radio show and later on ABC’s The View. “Respectfully, senator, what the hell are you doing?” Smith demanded. “Looking into the camera and telling military men and women to ignore the commander-in-chief? How dare you? How dare you do that?” Smith argued that as a veteran, Kelly was treading dangerous ground by advising troops to disobey orders, even if they were illegal. He warned, “You can be implicated for implying something if you are a former military member, or you are a present military member. It wasn’t what Mark Kelly said, it’s the fact that he was a combat Navy pilot who served in the military who would tell folks, ‘ignore an order,’ when it could get them in a world of trouble.”
Smith’s appearance on The View quickly turned into a heated exchange. Co-host Sunny Hostin challenged Smith, calling him “loud and wrong,” and pointed out that Kelly’s advice to refuse unlawful orders was consistent with the military code of conduct. Hostin argued, “He said you don’t have to follow an unlawful order and that is in the military code of conduct. It didn’t sound like you were aware of that.” Smith maintained his stance, replying, “I’m not changing a thing,” and dismissed Secretary Hegseth’s agreement with Kelly on the subject, saying, “First of all, I don’t give a damn what Pete Hegseth has to say, because I will tell you right now, he was never qualified for the job… I don’t care what he has to say. Let me get that out the way.”
As the debate raged, Smith noted he received feedback from both governors and senators, some supporting his view and others siding with Hostin and Kelly. “I had two governors, by the way, text me to tell me I was wrong and they agree with you,” he said. Hostin retorted, “You are wrong.” Smith replied, “And I had two senators that reached out to me and said ‘you aren’t wrong at all.’”
Meanwhile, Kelly continued to press for accountability, criticizing Trump for pardoning a former Honduran president convicted for smuggling over 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Kelly’s pointed question on social media—“If Trump wants to stop drug traffickers, why did he just pardon the guy convicted in one of the biggest narco cases in U.S. history?”—underscored his commitment to holding the administration to account, regardless of the political fallout.
Despite the threats and the backlash, Kelly remains resolute. "President Trump is trying to silence me—threatening to kill me—for saying what is true. He’s sent his Secretary of Defense after me. And it’s not going to work,” he declared. As investigations into the September 2 strikes and the Signalgate scandal continue, Kelly’s willingness to challenge both the administration and its critics stands as a testament to his belief in the rule of law and the responsibilities of public service.
This ongoing controversy has exposed deep divisions over civilian-military relations, the limits of presidential authority, and the obligations of those who serve. With Kelly at the forefront, the nation is left to grapple with the meaning of lawful obedience—and the courage it takes to stand up for principle, even when the stakes are high.
