Sen. Mark Kelly sues Hegseth, DOD over pay cut, censure

In a lawsuit filed in Washington on Monday, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., accused the Pentagon, the Navy, and the Trump administration of punishing him for protected political speech. He filed the lawsuit one week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the military would cut Kelly’s military retirement pay and censured Kelly for what Hegseth called a seditious video. Kelly is a retired Navy captain and astronaut. In November, Kelly was one of six Democratic lawmakers, all veterans of U.S. military or intelligence agencies, who posted a video to social media telling troops they are allowed to disobey unlawful orders. The Trump administration called the video seditious and an attempt to incite rebellion. The lawmakers argued that they cannot be punished for speech and that it was a reminder of legal practices.

How is Kelly being punished? Kelly receives monthly retirement pay. Even though he is not on active duty, Hegseth said that Kelly is still subject to disciplinary measures under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. On Jan. 5, the Pentagon announced it would downgrade Kelly’s rank as a captain and withhold his retirement pay. Kelly’s attorneys argue that reducing a rank should not apply to retired military members. In the lawsuit filing, they said that the executive branch has never before sanctioned a sitting member of Congress for “engaging in disfavored political speech.”

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on what the Pentagon said about its investigation into Kelly during a news conference last month.