Sen. Kelly sues DOD Sec. Hegseth, says he was punished for ‘disfavored

Sen. Mark Kelly on Monday sued the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, alleging the Trump administration’s efforts to punish the Arizona Democrat for his participation in a video to U.S. troops violate the Constitution.

The federal civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington was filed one week after Hegseth said his department would cut Kelly’s military retirement pay in response to the video.

The government’s actions “trample on protections the Constitution singles out as essential to legislative independence,” Kelly’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit, which was also filed against the U.S. Navy Department and its secretary, John Phelan.

“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the lawyers wrote.

The video at the center of the fight featured Kelly and five other congressional Democrats delivering a message addressed to U.S. troops and members of the intelligence community.

“Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly says in the 90-second video, which was first posted Nov. 18.

The other lawmakers, who all served in the military or in U.S. intelligence, each make a similar statement in the video. But Kelly is the only one who formally retired from service, and is therefore the only one who remains subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

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