Hegseth announced last Monday that he censured Kelly over the former Navy pilot's participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. Hegseth said the censure by itself simply a formal letter with little practical consequence was a necessary process step to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly's retired rank of captain and subsequent reduction in retirement pay.
After learning of the censure, Kelly called Hegseth the most unqualified secretary of defense in our country's history and vowed to fight this with everything I've got. Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn't like, they will come after them the same way, Kelly said in a statement. It's outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.
So again, yeah, this is all a bunch of bullshit, and the reason why, I think, is because this is just about sending a message to retired service members, active-duty service members, government employees: do not speak out against this president, or there will be consequences, replied Kelly, adding: So it's a lot bigger than just dealing with me, and that's why they don't handle this professionally, like you would expect.
My husband @CaptMarkKelly is a 25-year Navy combat pilot veteran. He served our country with strength, courage, and integrity, dedicating his career to protecting us and upholding our constitution, wrote Giffords on X, adding: Today, the President of the United States called him a traitor and demanded he be executed. It is dangerous and wrong. Americans of all political beliefs need to stand up and say so.
