Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suffered another setback in his ongoing efforts to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, as a federal appeals court panel signaled it was unlikely to side with the Pentagon chief's efforts to censure and demote the retired Navy captain over a November 2025 video in which Kelly told servicemembers they can "refuse illegal orders." Kelly's remarks came during public criticism of several Trump administration military policies, including National Guard deployments inside U.S. cities and deadly strikes on boats the administration said were trafficking drugs.