Sen. Mark Kelly on Military Orders and Trump

In a recent interview, Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) shared that he’s not particularly anxious about investigations or potential court-martial threats from the Trump administration. This statement follows a video posted by Kelly and other Democrats, where they urged military personnel not to obey “illegal” orders.

During his conversation with Vanity Fair, he referenced threats made by President Trump and Army Secretary Pete Hegseth, even drawing comparisons to his upbringing in northern New Jersey, likening it to the world of HBO’s The Sopranos. “I grew up in the town where the fictional Tony Soprano grew up,” Kelly remarked.

He elaborated that growing up around gangs instilled a certain resilience, which he believes is relevant in this context.

The video shared by Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin has gained millions of views and sparked interest from the White House. In response, the Department of the Army has begun investigating Kelly’s statements, indicating potential military prosecution if any legal violations are uncovered.

When pressed about whether he would refuse orders while in uniform, Kelly confidently stated, “He’s not threatening me and he’s not going to intimidate me,” referring to Trump and Hegseth, asserting that he faces much greater challenges. He also referred to Trump as a “wannabe authoritarian” and cautioned about the pressures military personnel might encounter to comply with unlawful directives.

“They might be under a lot of pressure to act in ways they could regret later—ways that may not be legal,” Kelly cautioned during the interview.

On the political front, Republicans are concerned that the video may undermine the military’s chain of command, while Democrats assert that it simply serves as a precaution against illegal orders. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee conveyed their worries about Kelly’s investigation and urged the Navy Secretary to reconsider the review.

The video, however, did not specify any particular orders that should be denied, though it criticized Trump’s recent deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities and the administration’s actions against a suspected drug smuggling vessel near Venezuela.

Mark Kelly entered the Arizona Senate in 2020, succeeding John McCain, and was later elected for a full term in 2022.