Pentagon to cut Sen. Mark Kelly retirement pay over video: Hegseth
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., holds a press conference in the Mansfield Room at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The Pentagon will cut Sen. Mark Kelly’s military pension over what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the Arizona Democrat’s “provocative” statements in a video in which he told other members of Congress they had the right to refuse to carry out illegal orders.
Hegseth also issued a formal letter of reprimand against Kelly; The Defense Minister said this letter detailed the senator’s “reckless misconduct”.
“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly – and five other members of Congress – released a reckless and inflammatory video clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said. he said. A statement about X.
“As a retired Navy Captain who still receives a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he still has a responsibility to military justice. And the War Department – and the American people – expect justice,” Hegseth said.
According to Hegseth’s tweet, Kelly has 30 days to respond to the decision to withhold his pension.
inside The video, published on X on November 18, “Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly says.
The other five Democratic members of Congress who gave similar messages in the same video were Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, House Representatives Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.
Slotkin is a former CIA analyst. Dekluzio and Goodlander are former Navy officers and Houlahan is a former Air Force officer.
But unlike Kelly, the other three veterans in the video left their branches of service rather than retired. As a result, they are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice like Kelly.
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