Sen. Mark Kelly could get demoted and have his military pay docked as punishment for participating in a video with five other congressional Dems who urged service members to “refuse illegal orders,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Monday.
Kelly, who is facing a review of his military rank, has also been sent a censure letter that “outlines the totality of Captain (for now) [sic] Kelly’s reckless misconduct,” according to Hegseth.
“In response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly,” Hegseth posted on X.
“The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings … with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.”
Kelly (D-Ariz.) will have a month to respond to the Department of War‘s actions, and Hegseth will finalize the process within 45 days, per the announcement.
Hegseth contended that Kelly’s “conduct was seditious in nature” and stressed that the senator is still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The secretary of war directed Navy Secretary John Phelan to conduct a review of Kelly’s rank. He also said that the censure letter will be placed in Kelly’s permanent military personnel file
Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former NASA astronaut, had joined Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Reps. Jason Crow (D-Col.), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) in making the controversial video this past November.
Of the six lawmakers who shot the video, Kelly was the only one in line for potential punishment as a retired servicemember.
Crow is an Army veteran who won a Bronze Star for his actions during the Iraq War. Deluzio and Kelly served in the Navy and Houlahan served in the Air Force, while Goodlander spent 11 years as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve. Slotkin is a former CIA analyst who also worked in the State Department and Pentagon during the Obama administration.
President Trump had publicly raged against the six Dems, accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH,” though he later claimed he wasn’t calling for the lawmakers to be killed.
The Pentagon opened a probe of Kelly last year, but the senator stoody by the video despite criticisms that it undermined the chain of command.
“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 recapped.
“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice,” he continued before adding: “Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action.”
The Post reached out to Kelly for comment.
