Democrat military veterans in Congress tell troops to defy unlawful orders

A group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds released a video Tuesday urging service members to “reject illegal orders”; conservatives criticized it as a call to challenge President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

The one-minute video, posted by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and viewed more than 1.6 million times, features six lawmakers drawing on their previous service while telling the military and intelligence community that “threats to our Constitution come from right here, from home.”

Slotkin and his colleagues have spent recent weeks pushing legislation that would limit President Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard members domestically or initiate military action against narcoterrorists without congressional approval.

None of these contexts appear in the video titled “Don’t Give Up on the Ship”; instead, the call is framed as a warning to military members to “defend our laws” and “reject illegal orders.”

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Conservative accounts took issue with the viral clip, citing military law and interpreting the call to action as an allegation of treason against the United States.

“Elected Democrats released a video encouraging members of the military to treason and defy Trump and Hegseth’s orders,” conservative account Libs of TikTok wrote.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., added: “At the end of the day, they’re angry that the American people elected Trump, and now they’re calling on the Military and the Intelligence Community to intervene. Sounds a bit like ‘democracy-wrecking’.”

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth responded to the Democratic lawmakers’ viral video with a “Phase 4 TDS” comment. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The War Department referred Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s response, “Phase 4 TDS,” referring to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Slotkin’s “Law to Prohibit Soldiers on Our Streets” was explained in detail. November 13 releaseIt would give Congress the authority to block the deployment of the National Guard in American cities. President Trump expanded National Guard operations to Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago amid violent crime.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., made a simultaneous introduction. War Powers Continue Resolution Actions Crow described in a statement as “unauthorized and illegal” on Tuesday to prevent the president from ordering attacks on drug traffickers in the Caribbean.

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Former Navy Captain Senator Mark Kelly called on soldiers to reject “illegal orders” in viral video. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)

Both Democrats argue the bills are about asserting congressional authority, not politics. Neither law is explicitly mentioned in the viral video shared on Tuesday, set to triumphant music.

Among the lawmakers featured in the video are Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D.N.H.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Rep. Jason Crow. Some read a version of the line: “You may reject illegal orders. You must reject illegal orders.”

Branches and agencies represented among lawmakers include the Army, Navy, Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency.

“Some people in the administration and the media are actively working to spin this message into something dark or divisive,” Houlahan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. he said. “Let me be absolutely clear: There is nothing more patriotic, more stabilizing, and more faithful to the rule of law than reminding our military of their constitutional obligations and assuring them that if they are given an unlawful order, they do not have to carry it out.”

“‘Don’t Surrender the Ship’ is not a mutiny slogan; it is a historic maritime slogan that has always represented determination, duty, and devotion to country. It is the backbone of the American civil-military tradition,” he added.

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The video comes after a 43-day government shutdown under the Trump administration during which American troops continued to receive pay.

The White House, Slotkin, Kelly, Deluzio, Goodlander and Crow did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.