Hegseth has been a force in the Trump administration. That’s why he’s so hated by the Left.
And Pete Hegseth faces a lawsuit for an appalling reason.
In a move that’s got Washington buzzing, Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), a retired Navy Captain, has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Kelly’s gripe? A censure letter and threats to cut his military retirement pay, all stemming from his role in a video that urged service members to ignore illegal orders.
Kelly claims the whole thing is an “unconstitutional and legally baseless proceeding” cooked up as payback for his outspoken views. He’s painting himself as the victim here, arguing that Hegseth and the Pentagon are trampling on his rights just because they didn’t like what he said.
In true Democrat fashion, he’s turning a legitimate military review into a constitutional crisis.
“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,” stated Kelly.
He’s framing this as an attack on his hard-earned benefits, but critics see it as him hiding behind his service record to avoid consequences for stirring up trouble in the ranks.
Kelly didn’t stop there. “His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”
The drama kicked off last week when Hegseth revealed that the Department of the Navy was launching retirement grade determination proceedings against Kelly. The goal? To potentially demote him and trim his pension. It’s a tough but necessary step to maintain discipline, especially after Kelly’s inflammatory video from November.
In that video, Kelly teamed up with five other Democratic veterans to tell troops to flat-out refuse illegal orders—without bothering to define what “illegal” means. Hegseth didn’t mince words, calling the conduct “seditious in nature.” And who can blame him? Encouraging insubordination in the military isn’t just reckless; it’s a direct threat to chain of command.
Kelly’s 46-page lawsuit pulls out all the stops, invoking the First Amendment and the Speech or Debate Clause to shield him from fallout. He argues that as a sitting senator, he’s immune from liability for official actions.
“Before that proceeding even began, the President publicly accused Senator Kelly of sedition and treason and demanded punishment,” Kelly’s lawsuit states.
“The Secretary himself has echoed those accusations, announced an investigation.” It’s no secret that President Trump and Hegseth have been vocal on social media, ripping into Kelly for that video. And why not? Leaders have a right to call out betrayal when they see it.
The complaint goes further: “The outcome of any subsequent ‘review’ of Senator Kelly’s grade—even assuming it could lawfully proceed—is foreordained.”
“The Constitution does not permit the government to announce the verdict in advance and then subject Senator Kelly or anyone else to a nominal process designed only to fulfill it.”
To bolster their case, Kelly’s lawyers dug up an old 2016 clip of Hegseth himself saying that if “you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that. That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander-in-chief.”
Kelly is now asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop Hegseth’s moves cold. It’s a high-stakes legal battle that could set precedents for how far politicians can go in meddling with troop morale.
At the heart of this showdown is a clash between free speech and military order. Many Americans see Hegseth’s actions as defending the integrity of our armed forces against leftist agitators. Kelly might wrap himself in the flag, but his words risked eroding the very foundation of service.
As this case unfolds, it’s a reminder that not all veterans share the same values.
While many proudly stand with Trump and Hegseth to make America great again, others like Kelly seem more interested in scoring political points.
