Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is still trying to seek revenge on Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for his role in a video reminding active-duty troops to refuse illegal orders — an issue relevant as Trump has sought to bomb ships in the Caribbean and deploy the military in U.S. cities — and the fallout of this could be damage to national security, the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote on Monday.
Initially, Hegseth, who has denounced the video as "seditious," was threatening to recall Kelly to active duty to court-martial him. He appears to have acknowledged this isn't feasible, so he has instead moved to reduce Kelly's rank and retirement pay, a move that is also certain to face legal challenge.
"This episode reflects well on nobody, and it will further poison the chances of a national defense consensus the country needs," the board chided.
"Mr. Kelly isn’t an innocent here," added the board. "Does Sen. Kelly think so little of his fellow officers to suggest so casually that they might carry out illegal orders? The Senator knows better than to sow doubt about the chain of command in the minds of young soldiers and officers."
That said, the board continued, "Telling officers not to obey illegal orders is a truism, not a 'seditious' statement. As a sitting Senator, Mr. Kelly deserves particular leeway on political speech notwithstanding his continuing military status" — and he certainly shouldn't be punished under military law for saying what he said.
The real problem, the board concluded, is that Hegseth is burning bridges he needs to fix real problems with America's defense infrastructure.
"The larger loss here is to the country," the board wrote. "The Trump Administration doesn’t want to hear this, but it needs allies across the aisle in Congress if it is serious about fixing U.S. shipbuilding or expanding weapons production. America’s real enemies are challenging U.S. interests across the world, and that’s who voters want the Trump Pentagon focused on, not Sen. Mark Kelly."