White House: “All servicemembers are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice]

Pete Hegseth: 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 ambiguity rather than clarity. It used carefully scripted, legal-sounding language. It subtly reframed military obedience around partisan distrust instead of established legal processes. In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion. The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command. As veterans of various sorts, the Seditious Six knew exactly what they were doing — sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation. The @DeptofWar won’t fall for it or stand for it.  Post at X

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

• Mark Kelly should be worried. It is one thing to tell a member of the military that they do not have to obey an illegal order when there is a particular order under scrutiny. When you give a member of the military that advice on spec — not tethered to a particular order under scrutiny, then you are merely creating a risk of insubordination by inviting the military member to decide for themselves what orders are legal and what orders are illegal. That you cannot do. – Shipwrecked Crew

.@PressSec: “The White House is supportive of the @DeptofWar‘s investigation into Senator Mark Kelly, and I think what Senator Mark Kelly was actually trying to do was intimidate the 1.3M active duty service members who are currently serving… you can’t have a functioning… https://t.co/F2Aiq6UoP9 pic.twitter.com/QcmQv6cExr

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 24, 2025