Pete Hegseth Appeals Order Blocking Sen. Mark Kelly's Punishment For Call To Resist Unlawful Orders

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Huff Post/AP

Feb 25, 2026, 11:28 AM EST


WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is appealing a judge’s order that blocks him from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

Justice Department officials filed a notice that they wil ask a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the Feb. 12 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon.

Kelly, who represents Arizona, said in a social media post that the only reason for Hegseth to appeal is to “keep trampling on the free speech rights of retired veterans and silence dissent.”

“These guys don’t know when to quit,” Kelly wrote on his X account.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pete-hegseth-appeals-order-blocking-mark-kellys-punishment_n_699f20ede4b0ef1afcc00575?origin=home-zone-d-unit

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Link to tweet

Senator Mark Kelly
@SenMarkKelly
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These guys don’t know when to quit. A federal judge told Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth that they violated my constitutional rights and chilled the free speech of millions of retired veterans. There is only one reason to appeal that ruling: to keep trampling on the free speech Show more
POLITICO
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Hegseth revives push to punish Sen. Mark Kelly http://dlvr.it/TR83Cm
6:27 PM · Feb 24, 2026