Democratic military veterans in Congress call on troops to defy illegal orders

A group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds released a video Tuesday urging the military to “refuse illegal orders,” a message conservatives called a call to defy President Donald Trump and his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

The minute-long video, posted by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan, and viewed more than 1.6 million times, shows six lawmakers invoking their prior service while telling members of the military and intelligence community that “threats to our Constitution are coming from right here at home.”

Slotkin and his colleagues have spent the past few weeks introducing legislation aimed at limiting President Trump’s ability to deploy members of the National Guard to the country or launch military action against narcoterrorists without congressional approval.

None of that context appears in the video, titled “Don’t Abandon Ship,” which instead presents the call as a warning to the military to “defend our laws” and “refuse illegal orders.”

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Slotkin called on troops to defy “unlawful orders” in a viral video posted Tuesday alongside fellow veteran Democrats in Congress. (Paul Sancya – Piscine/Getty Images)

Conservative accounts countered the viral clip, citing military law and interpreting the call to action as an alleged call to commit treason against the United States.

“Democratic elected officials just posted a video encouraging members of the military to commit treason and defy orders from Trump and Hegseth,” writes the conservative TikTok account Libs.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., added: “At the end of the day, they are furious that the American people chose Trump and now they are calling on the military and intelligence community to intervene. This seems a bit “subversive to democracy”.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth responded to the Democratic lawmakers’ viral video by commenting “Stage 4 TDS.” (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The War Department directed Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s response, which simply said “Stage 4 TDS,” referring to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Slotkin’s “No Troops on Our Streets” law, detailed in a Released November 13would give Congress the power to block National Guard deployments in American cities. President Trump expanded National Guard operations in Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago amid violent crime.

Representative Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, simultaneously presented a Continuing War Powers Resolution Tuesday to stop the president from ordering strikes against drug traffickers in the Caribbean — actions that Crow described in a statement as “unauthorized and illegal.”

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Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain, urged troops to refuse “unlawful orders” in the viral video. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)

Both Democrats say their bills are about asserting Congress’ authority, not playing politics. The viral video shared Tuesday, set to triumphant music, does not explicitly mention either piece of legislation.

Lawmakers appearing in the video include Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. ; and Rep. Jason Crow. Many recite a version of the phrase: “You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. »

Branches and agencies represented among lawmakers include the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Some within the administration and media are actively working to twist this message into something dark or divisive,” Houlahan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Let me be absolutely clear: There is nothing more patriotic, nothing more stabilizing, and nothing more faithful to the rule of law than reminding our military of their constitutional obligations and reassuring them that, if they ever receive an illegal order, they are not obligated to carry it out.”

“‘Don’t abandon ship’ is not a slogan of rebellion, it is a historic naval motto that has always stood for steadfastness, duty and loyalty to country. It is the backbone of the American civil-military tradition,” she added.

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The video follows a 43-day government shutdown during which U.S. troops continued to receive their pay under the Trump administration.

The White House, Slotkin, Kelly, Deluzio, Goodlander and Crow did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.