The Daily Populous Friday November 28th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by usatoday.com and submitted by Afrin_Drip

You would think serving as secretary of Defense would keep Pete Hegseth pretty busy, what with President Donald Trump's eagerness for hostilities with Venezuela and Russia's continued aggression against Ukraine.

But Hegseth, overseeing what Trump prefers to call "the Department of War," is fully committed instead to rhetorical combat on social media with the latest target on the president's long list of critics facing "retribution" – U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona.

Hegseth has threatened to recall Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy aviator and former astronaut, to active service, with an eye toward a court-martial.

That happened because Kelly helped create a video that informed members of America's military about a certain truth – they have the right to refuse to obey illegal orders.

Kelly has made it perfectly clear he is up for a fight with Trump, posting on Nov. 24 a lengthy defense that included a photo of the many medals he earned during his service.

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

Hegseth, so eager to do Trump's bidding, accused Kelly in a Nov. 25 response of wearing his medals in the wrong order in his picture and promised a "uniform inspection" when Kelly is recalled to service

Hegseth, focusing on the pettiest thing possible, is as clear an analogy as we could hope for about what he is up to on Trump's behalf. He comes away looking foolish, because this is all so foolish.

Mark Kelly's 'sedition' was pointing out laws exist

Kelly was one of six members of Congress, including another senator and four representatives, who served in the military or intelligence roles and appeared in the video released Nov. 18. It features straightforward stuff – with the Democratic politicians reminding "members of the Military and the Intelligence Community" that they swore an oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution.

Kelly, in the video, accused Trump of "pitting our uniformed military" against Americans while declaring, "Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders."

The FBI is reportedly now seeking to interview the six Democrats, on top of the Pentagon's focus on Kelly.

Say what you want about the video or what motivated it – there are many supporters and detractors with conflicting opinions to share – but what those six members of Congress said is just undeniably true.

That won't stop Hegseth from following through on Trump's retribution plans for Kelly, though they seemed as doomed from the start as Trump's abuse of the Department of Justice in indicting two other critics, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. A federal judge dismissed those indictments on Nov. 24.

Democrats broke no laws by telling the military the truth

Tobias Barrington Wolff, a professor at The University of Pennsylvania's Penn Carey Law School with expertise in constitutional law and civil rights, told me that Kelly has fundamental legal protections he can invoke.

"Sen. Kelly is a civilian and a United States senator speaking in the political arena about matters of vital public concern," Wolff emailed. "His speech is fully protected by the First Amendment, and this administration cannot use the Uniform Code of Military Justice to punish him."

Wolff said he found it "shocking" to hear government officials suggesting that an elected official might somehow give up the right to free speech just because he previously served in the military.

But that's just the kind of ham-fisted retaliation Trump demands from his cultish Cabinet. And Hegseth, like Attorney General Pam Bondi in the attacks on Comey and James, would never refuse to obey an illegal order from Trump.

In that way, Hegseth proves the point those six Democrats were making in their video.

Add to that Trump's social media histrionics about the video, with the commander in chief raving in Nov. 20 posts that the Democrats in the video engaged in "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL," calling them "traitors" and declaring their words to be "punishable by DEATH."

That's all nonsense, of course. The six Democrats broke no laws by telling members of the military they don't have to break any laws if someone orders it.

Trump doesn't care about the law. He just needs make-believe villains to yell about in his narrowly drawn me-versus-them worldview. But he picks targets who are willing to fight back.

Comey and James have already scored embarrassing wins over Trump. Now Kelly, who was short-listed as the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024 and has 2028 presidential potential, can punch up at Trump's reckless and lawless attacks.

Kelly can contrast his 25 years serving in the Navy with Trump's five deferments from the draft for military service during the Vietnam War. And the senator can fill his campaign war chest with donations from outraged supporters.

Kelly has already sent supporters emails highlighting how Hegseth is coming after him at Trump's behest, declaring that he will not be "silenced by bullies" and that citizens should "call this what it is: Political persecution."

So Trump gets what he wants in the short term: retribution for a critic. But America seems likely to get what we deserve in the long term: the rule of law delivering more humiliation for a lawless president's inept campaign for retribution.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.

Designer-Contract852 on November 27th, 2025 at 16:33 UTC »

Now the whole nation knows about what a great guy and American hero that mark Kelly is! Thanks, trump! Elevate the rising star!

RepulsiveLoquat418 on November 27th, 2025 at 16:27 UTC »

trump is the ultimate talk tough and hide behind your lawyer loser. that's why macho poseurs like hegseth and miller are drawn to him. kelly, unlike all of them, is a legitimate tough guy.

pequenaandjustice on November 27th, 2025 at 16:23 UTC »

Yes. Bullies expect people to accept it. This is how one stops bullies.