“It won’t work”: Kelly responds to Trump admin’s court-martial threat

Sen. Mark Kelly isn’t concerned about the Trump administration’s threats of a court-martial.

Kelly joined several other Democratic lawmakers earlier this month in a video that encouraged troops to disobey any unlawful orders they might be asked to carry out. President Donald Trump claimed the video amounted to sedition and threatened the death penalty. On Monday, the Department of Defense announced a probe into Kelly, saying the congressman could be recalled to face a court-martial.

The Democratic senator from Arizona responded with a statement detailing high-pressure situations he faced both as a pilot in the U.S. Navy and as an astronaut. Kelly said he would not give in to “bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”

“In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia,” he wrote. “I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much.”

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Kelly said he wouldn’t be swayed by the investigation.

“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” he wrote. “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced.”

When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space… pic.twitter.com/jMAlYEozQ6

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) November 24, 2025