Petty tyranny
By A defining feature of the Trump crew is that they’re not just dangerously authoritarian, they’re pathetic:
The Pentagon is moving to demote Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired captain in the U.S. Navy, over his participation in a video calling on troops to resist illegal orders.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday in a social-media post that the Defense Department has initiated steps to reduce the Arizona Democrat’s retired rank, which would result in a significant cut in the lawmaker’s retirement pay. Hegseth said he had also issued a formal “Letter of Censure,” which the secretary called “a necessary process step.”
“Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action,” Hegseth wrote.
In a Jan. 5 letter to Kelly, Hegseth wrote that in totality, Kelly’s conduct “demonstrates specific intent to counsel servicemembers to refuse lawful orders.”
“Your conduct has had, and continues to have, a detrimental impact on military discipline and good order,” Hegseth wrote. “Your conduct represents a serious breach of the standards expected of officers in the United States Navy, even in retirement.”
Hegseth warned that if Kelly continues similar conduct, he might open himself up to criminal prosecution or further administrative action.
The move is an extraordinary censure of a sitting U.S. senator but stops short of recalling him to active duty and prosecuting him, as Trump officials have threatened to do. Hegseth didn’t rule out taking such a step, indicating in the post that he may take further action.
Kelly doesn’t deserve this, but I don’t think this puerile drunk penalizing an astronaut for making banal statements is a good look for the administration politically either.
Kelly’s response is very good:
