Pete Hegseth Moves to Cut Mark Kelly’s Military Retirement Pay Over ‘Seditious’ Comments

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Monday that Sen. Mark Kelly would receive a retired grade reduction and a reduction in pay over his appearance in a video instructing troops not to follow illegal orders and urging federal intelligence personnel to uphold their oaths to defend the Constitution.

“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,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. “As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”

Kelly will have 30 days to reply to the official letter of censure, Hegseth said on X.

The Department of Defense announced Kelly, a retired Navy captain, was under investigation immediately after the video’s release in November.

President Donald Trump said at the time that the behavior was sedition, potentially punishable by death.

Kelly and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who is also featured in the video, formed a legal defense fund.

Hegseth said the actions against Kelly were based on statements from June to December of last year and that he had “issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct.”

Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but had not backed down from his comments as recently as last month.

“Donald Trump is abusing his power and bringing the full weight of the executive branch to bear in an unconstitutional effort to intimidate Senator Kelly,” Jacob Peters, a spokesperson for Kelly, said in a statement to NOTUS in December. “Senator Kelly is preparing to fight back, so that he can continue to stand up, speak out, and do his job for Arizona and the country.”