Hegseth’s Court-Martial Threat Against Senator Kelly Backfires, Exposing Flaws in Trump’s Retaliatory Push

By Helene Cooper and Jonathan Weisman Washington — Nov. 28, 2025

President Donald J. Trump’s aggressive campaign to punish Democratic lawmakers for a video urging military personnel to disobey unlawful orders suffered a humiliating setback on Thursday, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s public threats to court-martial a key target appeared to undermine any viable legal case against him. The episode, which began as a routine partisan skirmish, has spiraled into a full-blown embarrassment for the administration, with legal experts dismissing the move as legally untenable and Republican allies quietly distancing themselves from what one called “a revenge plot gone haywire.” As Mr. Trump lashed out on social media, analysts warned of deepening fissures within the G.O.P. military establishment, potentially eroding support for Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation and complicating Mr. Trump’s broader agenda of retribution against perceived enemies.

The controversy traces to a 90-second video released on Nov. 18 by a group of Democratic congressional veterans, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a retired Navy captain and combat pilot. Titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” the clip featured six lawmakers — Senators Kelly and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Representatives Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio and Maggie Goodlander — addressing service members directly. “We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community,” they said, invoking a Revolutionary War-era rallying cry. “The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.” The message, timed amid reports of extralegal military operations in the Caribbean targeting suspected drug smugglers, reiterated a core tenet of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: the duty to refuse illegal orders.

What might have faded as a forgettable op-ed in uniform instead ignited a firestorm. Mr. Trump, fresh from a Mar-a-Lago strategy session on his promised “retribution” against the “deep state,” seized on the video during a late-night Truth Social rant. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he posted, reposting a supporter’s call to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” The outburst, viewed over 15 million times, drew swift condemnation from Democrats as incitement and from some Republicans as unhinged. Mr. Hegseth, the Fox News veteran confirmed as defense secretary in January despite allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol issues, amplified the fury the next day on X, formerly Twitter. Labeling the group the “Seditious Six,” he announced an investigation into “serious allegations of misconduct” against Mr. Kelly — the only one still eligible for recall to active duty under the U.C.M.J. — and warned that retirees remain bound by its strictures on undermining military morale.

By Thursday, however, the scheme had imploded under the weight of its own bombast. Legal scholars, speaking to The New York Times, panned Mr. Hegseth’s approach as self-sabotaging. “By publicly accusing Kelly of U.C.M.J. violations before any formal inquiry, Hegseth has likely prejudiced the process,” said Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force judge advocate and military law professor at Southwestern Law School. “It screams retaliation, not justice — prosecutors would have to recuse, and the case evaporates.” Indeed, Mr. Kelly’s team filed a preemptive complaint with the Pentagon’s inspector general on Wednesday, arguing the probe was a “politically motivated influence operation” designed to silence dissent. The senator, whose wife, former Representative Gabby Giffords, survived an assassination attempt in 2011, dismissed the threat during a taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” aired Thursday night. “Hegseth is totally unqualified — he just wants to please the president,” Mr. Kelly said, drawing applause. “This is ridiculous, and it’s not how we treat our veterans.”

Mr. Trump, vacationing in Florida amid Thanksgiving, responded with characteristic fury, firing off a midday post: “Weak generals and fake vets like Kelly are why we lose wars — LOCK HIM UP!” But behind the bluster, White House aides expressed private alarm. The incident has revived scrutiny of Mr. Hegseth’s rocky tenure, including April revelations that he shared sensitive military plans via unsecured Signal chats — one involving his wife and brother — prompting cybersecurity probes and leaks from disgruntled staff. “Pete’s inner circle is a mess; this just pours gas on it,” one senior defense official said, speaking anonymously to discuss internal deliberations. Mr. Trump, who has solicited feedback on Mr. Hegseth from allies like Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, has so far defended him but hinted at impatience during recent calls.

The political fallout rippled across Capitol Hill, where even G.O.P. hawks blanched at the optics. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a fixture on the Armed Services Committee, joined Mr. Kelly in a bipartisan statement Thursday decrying the “weaponization of military justice for partisan ends.” Mr. Graham, a Trump confidant, urged restraint in a Fox News appearance, saying, “We support the president’s agenda, but court-martials aren’t tweet fodder.” The episode has galvanized Democrats, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer scheduling a floor vote next week on a resolution condemning the threats — a symbolic rebuke but one that could force vulnerable Republicans into uncomfortable votes ahead of 2026 midterms.

Analysts, poring over the wreckage, see a cautionary tale for Mr. Trump’s revenge blueprint, outlined in his 2024 campaign as a purge of “disloyal” officials from the Justice Department to the Pentagon. “This is amateur hour — Hegseth’s slip exposes the plot’s legal fragility and invites backlash from the very military base Trump needs,” said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton historian and co-author of “The Politics of Military Justice.” Polling from a Republican firm, leaked to Politico, showed Mr. Trump’s approval among veterans dipping to 55 percent, with independents citing the Kelly feud as emblematic of “Trump’s chaos.” On X, #HegsethBackfire trended with over 800,000 mentions, blending memes of Mr. Hegseth in fatigues captioned “Mission Accomplished… Not” with clips from the lawmakers’ video.

For Mr. Hegseth, 45, the misstep compounds a tenure defined by controversy. A Princeton graduate and Army National Guard veteran, he parlayed his Fox perch — railing against “woke” Pentagon policies — into the cabinet slot, but his confirmation barely cleared the Senate 51-49 amid assault allegations he denied. Recent embarrassments, like a wardrobe spat over Ukraine peace talks where Mr. Trump bypassed him for a deputy, have fueled whispers of a short shelf life. “He’s loyal to a fault, but loyalty without competence is liability,” a former colleague said.

Mr. Kelly, meanwhile, has emerged stronger, his profile boosted by the dust-up. The astronaut-turned-senator, up for re-election in 2028, framed the probe as an assault on constitutional oaths during a Phoenix town hall Thursday, drawing 2,000 supporters chanting “Don’t give up the ship!” Preservationists and veterans’ groups, from the V.F.W. to the American Legion, issued statements backing the Democrats, warning that Mr. Trump’s rhetoric risks eroding enlistment rates already strained by the administration’s Caribbean operations.

As the sun set on a frenzied Thanksgiving week, Mr. Trump retreated to golf, but the damage lingered. His revenge plot — once a rallying cry for the MAGA base — now serves as a stark reminder of the perils of overreach. In Washington, where vendettas are currency, Hegseth’s accidental detonation may not just stall one probe; it could ignite a broader inferno, forcing Mr. Trump to choose between fealty and feasibility. For a president who thrives on dominance, the warning is clear: Even allies can blow up the board.