By Michael Schwarz November 25, 2025 at 10:55am
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has noticed every aspect of Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona’s recent flirtation with sedition.
Monday on the social media platform X, Kelly posted an arrogant series of comments about his career of service in the U.S. Navy and at NASA, accompanied by a partial photo of his medal-adored Navy uniform.
In a remarkable reply posted Tuesday morning on X, Hegseth chastised Kelly for incorrect uniform display.
“So ‘Captain’ Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order & discipline … but you can’t even display your uniform correctly,” Hegseth wrote. “Your medals are out of order & rows reversed. When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection.”
So “Captain” Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order & discipline…but you can’t even display your uniform correctly.
Your medals are out of order & rows reversed. When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection. https://t.co/rsSyrPcmbg
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) November 25, 2025
Kelly’s self-promoting photo and defiant words undoubtedly irritated the Secretary of War.
“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,” Kelly wrote following a series of comments celebrating his own record of service. “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space… pic.twitter.com/jMAlYEozQ6
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) November 24, 2025
By “this,” Kelly meant Trump and Hegseth’s justifiable response to the senator’s likely sedition.
Last week, Kelly joined five other elected Democrats in posting a video designed to stir insurrection in the military. In that video, the Seditious Six urged intelligence professionals and military service members to disobey “illegal” orders.
Those Democrats, however, cited no examples of such orders. That, of course, made their purpose clear. They intended to undermine Trump’s legitimacy by encouraging anti-Trump service members to draw a distinction between the president and the Constitution’s authority — a distinction impossible in the absence of specific “illegal” orders.
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, one of the Seditious Six, later admitted that no such “illegal” orders existed.
Meanwhile, Trump reacted with the outrage befitting a duly elected commander in chief.
Hegseth’s uniform-related chastisement of Kelly, of course, made for good theater. Hopefully, it left the Democrat senator seething.
The Secretary of War’s more substantive response, however, came in a follow-up post less than an hour later.
In that second post, Hegseth called the Democrats’ sedition video “despicable.” He added that it “may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.”
Crucially, Hegseth labeled that video a “politically-motivated influence operation.” It “never named a specific ‘illegal order’; “created ambiguity rather than clarity”; “used carefully scripted, legal-sounding language”; and “subtly reframed military obedience around partisan distrust instead of established legal processes.”
“The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders,” he wrote. “It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.”
Hegseth concluded by accusing “the Seditious Six” of “sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation. The @DeptofWar won’t fall for it or stand for it.”
The despicable video urging @DeptofWar troops to “refuse illegal orders” may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.
This was a politically-motivated influence operation:
☑️ It never named a specific “illegal order.”
☑️ It created…— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) November 25, 2025
In sum, Hegseth has taken action here that every American patriot must regard as both appropriate and long overdue.
The War Secretary’s uniform-related chastisement merely reminded Kelly of his rank and the prospect of his recall to active duty.
Then, Hegseth’s second post signaled impending consequences.
Throughout their deranged, 10-year crusade against Trump, Democrats have suffered no consequences of any kind. With one hoax after another, they have undermined both his constitutional authority and the will of the electorate. Their unhinged “fascist” and “Nazi” rhetoric has placed literal targets on his back and the backs of his supporters.
At some point, prominent Democrats must pay for the damage they have caused. In civilian life, we cannot criminalize political speech. Nor should we. But the military has different rules. Kelly and the Seditious Six — all veterans of either the military or intelligence services — knew this.
Let us hope that Hegseth has not finished reminding them.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
