President Donald Trump's Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has threatened to call up Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) into active military service again, just so he can court-martial him — but even if he goes through with this plan, it is likely to backfire spectacularly, some observers warned on Monday.
Kelly is one of six Democratic lawmakers from a military background who made a joint video reminding active servicemembers that if they are given illegal orders, like to kill unarmed civilians or take over civilian law enforcement in American cities, they have a duty to refuse those orders.
This is clearly outlined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice — but ever since the video came out, Trump and his devotees have falsely claimed these lawmakers are trying to countermand lawful orders, with Trump even calling the video "seditious" and threatening to have them executed.
But Hegseth, who now calls his position "Secretary of War" under an executive order Trump signed, would be wise to just let this go, some commenters noted on social media — because to actually try to prosecute him under military law would not just fail, but give Kelly a massive profile and fundraising boost and possibly even position him as a top-tier presidential candidate in 2028.
"Alternate headline: Pentagon threatens to make Mark Kelly the first Senator to raise $1 billion for their next election," wrote Inside Elections' Jacob Rubashkin.
Erick Erickson, a longtime conservative commentator, agreed: "Thanks to Pete Hegseth, this guy is going to make so much money this coming year as a fundraiser and he’s in prime position now for 2028 over Gavin Newsom."
Kelly, for his part, posted a defiant response on X himself.
"In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much," wrote Kelly. "If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution."