Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he is cutting Senator Mark Kelly’s retirement pay after the Arizona Democrat reminded members of the military in November that they have the right to refuse illegal orders. 

The Pentagon’s decision to reduce Mr. Kelly’s pension payments is in response to Mr. Kelly and five other congressional Democrats sharing a video discussing possible illegal orders issued by superiors. The video was released shortly after President Trump discussed sending troops to Chicago. 

In that video, the six lawmakers — all of whom served in the military or as members of the intelligence community — said they believed servicemembers were under “enormous stress and pressure right now.”

“Like us, you all swore an oath” to the Constitution, Mr. Kelly said in the direct-to-camera video. 

Members of the military do have a limited right to refuse orders from higher-ups. On Monday, Mr. Hegseth announced that Mr. Kelly would pay a price for his warning. “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,” Mr. Hegseth wrote on X. 

“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice.” Citing Mr. Kelly’s “seditious statements,” Mr. Hegseth ordered a “reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.” 

Mr. Kelly, who retired in 2011 with the rank of Navy captain, has the right to challenge this decision within 30 days. Mr. Kelly’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Sun, however, his attorneys in November warned the Navy secretary, John Phelan, that any administrative actions would be “unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power.”

In a statement on X Monday, Mr. Kelly said that he would not be intimidated by Mr. Hegseth’s threats. 

“I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out,” Mr. Kelly wrote on X. “My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country.”

“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong,” he added.

The retribution against Mr. Kelly has been in the works since the November video. Shortly after it aired online, President Trump went on a tirade against the six lawmakers. 

“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL,” the president wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”

At one point, the president shared a Truth Social post from another user saying that the lawmaker ought to be executed for seditious behavior. Mr. Hegseth also suggested that Mr. Kelly may be recalled into active duty in order to face a court martial. 

Mr. Kelly brushed off the threat at the time. “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,” Mr. Kelly said. 

Mr. Hegseth hinted Monday about additional punishments for Mr. Kelly, saying that he is a retired captain only “for now.”

“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 defense secretary wrote.