Sen. Mark Kelly sues Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in response to demotion threat

PHOENIX – U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday over his efforts to demote the Arizona Democrat from his retired rank of Navy captain.

“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my 25 years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States senator whose job is to hold him — and this or any administration – accountable,” Kelly said in a statement.

Hegseth announced last Monday that Kelly was being officially censured as part of the process to determine if he should be demoted for appearing in a video where he and other congressional Democrats told members of the U.S. military and intelligence community they have a duty to refuse “illegal orders.”

Kelly was given 30 days to respond to the censure and potential demotion. He took legal action one week later.

Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job is to hold him—and this or any administration—accountable. His unconstitutional…

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) January 12, 2026

The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, lists Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, along with the Department of Defense and the Navy, as defendants.

“The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech. That prohibition applies with particular force to legislators speaking on matters of public policy,” the lawsuit says.

Kelly wants the court to rule that the defendants’ actions are illegal, order the defendants to pay Kelly’s attorney fees and issue “any and all other such relief as the Court deems just and proper.”

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush.

Kelly has accused Hegseth moving to reduce his retirement rank and pay as way to discourage other veterans from speaking out against the Trump administration.

“Hegseth wants our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and pay years, or even decades, after they leave the military just because he or another secretary of defense doesn’t like what they’ve said. That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it,” Kelly said in his statement.

Why is Sen. Mark Kelly facing possible demotion?

Kelly came under scrutiny after he and five other Democrats appeared in a Nov. 18 video telling members of the U.S. military and the intelligence community they have a duty to refuse “illegal orders.”

Two days after the 90-second video was released, Trump called the participants “traitors” and accused them of sedition “punishable by death” on his Truth Social account.

Trump’s social media posts are referenced, with screenshots, in Kelly’s lawsuit.

On Nov. 24, the Pentagon announced it was reviewing “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly and warned he could face court-martial proceedings.

All six Democratic lawmakers in the video — Kelly, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) and Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) — served in the military or the intelligence community. But only Kelly is facing punishment from the Pentago because he, as a retired Navy commander receiving pay, is still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice while the others aren’t.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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