President Trump "Often Doubles Down on Bad Ideas": Senator Mark Kelly

Senator Mark Kelly doesn’t expect President Donald Trump administration’s failure to convince a grand jury to indict him and other Democratic lawmakers for a video that told federal troops they can refuse “illegal orders” to at all lower tensions or prevent further actions.

“Sure — the grand jury didn’t indict me a couple of days ago, but I don’t put anything past these guys,” the Arizona Democrat said in a Bloomberg Television interview from the Munich Security Conference. “You know, the president often doubles down on bad ideas. I mean, he has a habit of doing this. So I expect him to continue with this effort.”

A Navy combat veteran and former astronaut, Kelly was on the shortlist of potential running mates for former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, fueling speculation that he could make his own possible future run for the White House.

His comments on Friday sharpened his rhetorical showdown with Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth  and capped a week in which the White House was rebuffed on two fronts. He speaks with Bloomberg Balance of Power hosts Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can’t penalize Sen. Mark Kelly over a video in which the Arizona Democrat and military veteran told service members they can refuse “illegal orders,” a Washington federal judge ruled.

In an opinion with more than a dozen exclamation points, Senior Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday blocked the Pentagon from pursuing disciplinary action against Kelly, a former US Navy officer.

Leon found that the effort to cut Kelly retirement benefits was likely unconstitutional in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.

“This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, ‘You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,’” Leon, a George W. Bush appointee wrote. “To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it!”

Leon also said it is a “particularly valuable asset” to have retired service members contribute to public discourse, and allowing the Pentagon’s actions to stand threatened to suppress their speech at the expense of public debate, Leon said.

He added that he hopes his injunction “will in some small way help bring about a course correction in the Defense Department’s approach to these issues.”

Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the ruling would be immediately appealed. “Sedition is sedition, ‘Captain,’” he posted.

Kelly praised the ruling but anticipated further action.

“I appreciate the judge’s careful consideration of this case, and the clarity of his ruling,” Kelly said in a statement Thursday. “But I also know that this might not be over yet, because this President and this administration do not know how to admit when they’re wrong.”

“One thing is for sure,” Kelly added, “however hard the Trump administration may fight to punish me and silence others, I will fight ten times harder. This is too important.”

Lawmakers’ Video

The case stems from Kelly’s participation in a November video, posted on social media, alongside Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former CIA analyst, and other lawmakers who are also former members of the military or intelligence community.

“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly said in the video. Kelly, who has represented Arizona in the Senate since 2020, previously served as an officer and naval aviator for the US Navy. He’s also a veteran of multiple NASA space shuttle flights.

The video was posted amid increased scrutiny into President Donald Trump’s use of the military, including National Guard deployments across the country and military strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.

And it drew quick backlash from Trump, who posted on Truth Social that their remarks amounted to “seditious behavior” and called for them to be arrested.

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