Kelly fires back at Hegseth over censure, says he's never backing down

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Mark Kelly reacts to censure letter, tells MS NOW 'I'm not going away'

Sen. Mark Kelly fired back at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday after the Trump administration cabinet member announced Kelly would receive a censure letter over his illegal orders video.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., fired back Monday at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during an interview on MS NOW, after Hegseth announced that Kelly would receive a formal censure letter related to a video he and other lawmakers posted urging troops to refuse illegal orders.

Kelly told host Rachel Maddow he was "surprised" the administration was trying to "silence" him.

"I’m never going to back down from these guys. I’m going to continue to speak out. I’m going to continue to do my job. And as much as I can highlight how wrong these people are and how outrageous this is and how dangerous. So I’m not going away. This is just one step in this process. And I think it’s fair to say it’s a big one," the senator said.

Kelly was one of six lawmakers who appeared in a video in November urging service members to reject illegal orders from the Trump administration.

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Stephen Colbert guest Sen. Mark Kelly speaks during Monday's Sept. 22, 2025, show. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the public memorial service for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Maddow asked Kelly whether the Trump administration’s actions were part of an effort to change how the president uses the military and "the kinds of expectations we have for ethical and lawful behavior by U.S. service members."

Kelly said it could be partly that, but added, "I think the bigger thing here is Donald Trump didn’t like what I said, and he was so struck by it."

"And in some ways, you know, maybe I hurt his ego in a way that he now is starting to understand that members of the military don’t have blind loyalty to him. He should know this. He’s the commander in chief. He’s been president before. The loyalty is to the Constitution, not to a person. And, you know, he didn’t like that. And, you know, he did what he normally does, which is opens his mouth before he thinks and then doubles down on it," the senator added.

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Sen. Mark Kelly is seen in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 27, in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Kelly questioned what rights other retired service members would have if the administration succeeded in silencing him.

"I think if they’re successful in, and by the way, Rachel, they’re not going to be successful in ever shutting me up. That doesn’t, they could go as far as they possibly can go with that. That’s not going to happen. But if they can, you know, punish me in a significant way, that’s going to silence other critics of the government. And that is a foundational problem for our constitutional democracy," Kelly said.

The senator has remained defiant amid backlash from Trump, who accused the lawmakers of sedition.

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Kelly was pressed in November on whether he would refuse illegal orders, saying that service members should be able to tell the difference.

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"People can tell the difference, should be able to tell the difference, between something that is unlawful and something that is lawful," the senator said at the time. "And if I was ever given an unlawful order, I would refuse. If you have time, you can certainly go to the judge, advocate generals, the lawyers and have a discussion about it. If you don’t have time, you just say simply, I’m not going to do that. That’s against the law."