A group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds released a video on Tuesday urging service members to “refuse unlawful orders,” a message conservatives characterized as a call to defy President Donald Trump and his Secretary of the Army, Pete Hegseth.
In the one-minute video, posted by Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, and viewed more than 1.6 million times, six lawmakers invoke their prior service while telling members of the military and intelligence community that “threats to our Constitution come from right here at home.”
Slotkin and her colleagues have spent the past few weeks introducing legislation to limit President Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard members domestically or launch military actions against narco-terrorists without Congressional approval.
None of that context appears in the video, titled “Don’t Abandon Ship”, which instead frames the appeal as a warning to the military to “defend our laws” and “refuse unlawful orders.”
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Elissa Slotkin narrowly defeated Republican Mike Rogers to win the 2024 Senate election in Michigan. She urged troops to challenge “unlawful orders” in a viral video released Tuesday alongside other veteran Democratic lawmakers. (Paul Sancya – Pool/Getty Images)
Conservative accounts pushed back on the viral clip, citing military law and interpreting the call to action as an alleged appeal to commit treason against the United States.
“Elected Democrats just released a video encouraging members of the military to commit treason and defy the orders of Trump and Hegseth,” wrote the conservative TikTok account Libs.
Republican Senator Eric Schmitt added: “After all, they’re upset because the American people elected Trump, and now they’re asking the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community to intervene. Sounds a little ‘subversive to democracy.’”
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Pete Hegseth addresses generals at Quantico.
Army Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the viral video from Democratic lawmakers with the comment: “Stage 4 TDS.” (Kevin Reuters)
The Department of the Army referred Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s response, which simply read: “Stage 4 TDS,” referring to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Slotkin’s No Troops in Our Streets Act, detailed in a November 13 statement, would give Congress the power to block National Guard deployments within U.S. cities. President Trump has expanded National Guard operations to Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago amid violent crime.
On Tuesday, Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, simultaneously introduced a Continuity of War Powers Resolution to prevent the president from ordering attacks against drug traffickers in the Caribbean, actions 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 Bloomberg)
Both Democrats argue that their bills are intended to enforce Congressional authority, not politics. The viral video shared Tuesday, set to triumphant music, does not explicitly mention either law.
Lawmakers featured in the video include Slotkin, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Representative Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Representative Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Representative Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Representative Jason Crow. Several recite a version of the phrase, “You can refuse unlawful orders. You must refuse unlawful orders.”
The branches and agencies represented among the lawmakers include the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
“Some in the administration and media are actively working to distort that message and turn it into something dark or divisive,” Houlahan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Let me be absolutely clear: there is nothing more patriotic, stabilizing, or faithful to the rule of law than reminding our military of their constitutional obligations and assuring them that if they ever receive an unlawful order, they are not required to follow it.”
“Don’t Abandon Ship” is not a slogan of rebellion: it is a historic naval motto that has always represented steadfastness, duty, and loyalty to the nation. It is the backbone of American civic-military tradition,” she added.
The video comes after 43 days of government shutdown, during which U.S. troops continued to receive 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.
Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital, covering politics, the military, faith, and culture.
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