Mark Kelly vows to fight back after his retired military rank, pay cut because of ‘seditious’ video

Sen. Mark Kelly on Monday vowed to fight efforts to cut his rank and pay as a retired U.S. Navy officer after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused him of making “seditious statements” in a video to military personnel.

He said that he spent more than 25 years in the Navy, where he flew 39 combat missions and four voyages into space as a NASA astronaut.

“I risked my life for this country and do defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out,” the senator said on social media. “I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that.”

He also said Mr. Hegseth was trying to send a message to other retired military personnel that the administration will come after them if they say something that President Trump doesn’t like.

Mr. Hegseth said: “Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States senator does not exempt him from accountability.”

He has accused the Arizona Democrat and five other lawmakers who are retired military of making a “reckless and seditious video” in November in which they called on the troops to defy “illegal orders” and uphold the Constitution.

“As a retired Navy captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. The Department of War, and the American people, expect justice,” Mr. Hegseth said in a statement where he used an alternate name for the Defense Department that has been authorized by the White House.

A formal letter of censure will be placed in Mr. Kelly’s military file. The Defense Department will also initiate proceedings that could result in a reduction of his retirement pay. He has 30 days to submit a response to the action, officials said.

Several Senate Democrats are standing behind their colleague. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a former Army helicopter pilot who was wounded in Iraq, said it was “wildly inappropriate” for the Trump administration to go after critics like Mr. Kelly.

“Kelly is a patriot who has always put our American democracy first and has always supported our servicemembers and the rule of law. Something neither Trump or Hegseth can say,” she said in a statement.