According to new reporting from Politico, a federal appeals court is poised to quash Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to punish Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who drew the ire of the White House by telling troops to reject illegal orders. This represents a major blow to the administration’s war of narratives as it has attempted to smear Navy veteran and former astronaut Kelly as a traitor while asserting its broad military powers.
The matter dates back to last November, when Kelly, along with five other Democratic lawmakers, filmed a video warning that President Donald Trump intended to use the military against American citizens, and reminding troops that they have the right to “refuse illegal orders.” Hegseth then formally censured Kelly, launching a review into whether his rank and retirement pay should be diminished as a consequence. A district judge ruled that Hegseth’s actions amounted to an attack on free speech, which he appealed.
But on Thursday, the three judges presiding over the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had some harsh questions for White House lawyers, pushing back against the administration’s rationale and suggesting that they would uphold the lower court’s decision to back Kelly’s free speech.
“The text of the video, which I take to be really the fulcrum of this entire case, advises that service members have no obligation to obey unlawful orders,” said Judge Cornelia Pillard. “Nobody in the video says service members have a duty to disobey lawful orders.”
With her fellow judges expressing similar sentiments, it appears likely that Hegseth’s appeal has failed. While the Justice Department is also pushing for a criminal indictment for Kelly and the other five lawmakers involved with the video — all of whom have served in military or national security — such efforts have been stymied.
This has resulted in more than a mere legal loss for the Trump administration, but the ascension of an electoral rival. While Kelly previously had garnered some recognition as an astronaut and senator, “The saga has turned the Arizona Democrat into a high-profile opponent of the administration — and elevated his national standing as he ‘seriously’ considers a White House bid.”
According to Politico, “Kelly has turned his fight with Trump into a fundraising windfall, raking in a staggering $25 million-plus over the last six months even though he’s not on the ballot this year. And he’s leveraged the media attention into a megaphone while growing his online following. Regardless of how the appeals court rules, the case is likely to end up before the Supreme Court either just before the congressional midterms or in the months after, as candidates sharpen their 2028 message over Trump’s improper and potentially illegal use of the military.”
Kelly, who was on the shortlist to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024, isn’t the only Democrat from the video with presidential aspirations. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is known to be considering a bid for the primary. A former CIA analyst and Pentagon official, she serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside Kelly.
While in 2024, Kelly was registering at just .4 percent in polls for possible 2028 Democratic candidates, Trump’s November declaration that the Senator’s “seditious behavior” was “punishable by death” thrust him into the spotlight. This high-profile battle with an unpopular president, plus Kelly’s experience as an astronaut and marriage to Gabby Giffords — who famously survived an assassination attempt — has shaped him into a rising political star.
“He’s got the backstory. He’s a hot commodity right now,” said Democratic presidential campaign strategist Pete Giangreco. “He’s done it in a way that has excited the base of the party but is also a talking point that can win a general election because this is about courage and standing up for the Constitution and making sure we have a military that is not politicized.”
As Steven Smith, political scientist and expert in elections and public opinion at Arizona State University, declared, “Some candidates may pop up and be flashier speakers, but none of them will be as articulate. Kelly just commands your attention.”