Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issues Letter of Censure to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly

(NBC, KYMA) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is issuing a Letter of Censure to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) Monday.

According to Secretary Hegseth's post on X, the Censure is in response to Sen. Kelly's role in a video calling on troops to resist unlawful orders as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

In the 90-second video posted last November, Kelly and other Veteran lawmakers called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy "illegal orders."

Hegseth said that the Censure was a "necessary process step" to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly's retired rank of captain in the U.S. Navy.

The Pentagon announced an investigation into Kelly's participation in the video last year, and Kelly said that the investigation was part of an effort to silence dissent within the military.

In response to this, Kelly issued the following statement:

"Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that.  

My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head — all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of service members have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve. 
 
Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired service member that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn't like, they will come after them the same way. It's outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.  

If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country's history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn't get it. I will fight this with everything I've got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don't get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government."