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Democrats and Republicans heard two very different takeaways when a group of Democratic lawmakers called on U.S. service members not to carry out certain orders in a video that went viral on social media Tuesday.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., one of the lawmakers featured in the video, expressed exasperation with how critics had framed the message.
“I’m not telling people to ignore orders,” Houlahan said Wednesday. “I’m enormously frustrated with the way that this very sensible video is being interpreted in a really insidious way.”
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Houlahan and five other Democrats with military or intelligence experience had encouraged service members not to carry out unlawful orders.
“The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution,” the lawmakers said.
“Don’t give up the ship,” the video added, a reference to a phrase used by the Navy.
Houlahan was joined by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.
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The video did not give an example of what specific kinds of orders service members might have to refuse.
In a separate post to X, Slotkin hinted that service members asked to carry out airstrikes off the coast of Venezuela might be engaging in illegal strikes and said that some pilots had expressed concern about their involvement.
Republicans responding to the exhortation mocked it as an example of Democratic paranoia toward Trump.
“[It’s] Stage 4 TDS,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a post to X, referring to Trump Derangement Syndrome, a moniker for the Democrats’ fixation on the president.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said the call sounded politically charged.
“At the end of the day, they’re mad the American people chose Trump, and now they’re calling on the military and intelligence community to intervene. Sounds a little ‘subversive to democracy’-ish,” Schmitt said.
When asked about the video, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he supports the exhortation in principle but noted that it’s sometimes difficult to parse what’s permissible and what isn’t.
“You can’t disobey the Constitution,” Reed said. “The issue though, on a practical sense to me, is that determination is often very difficult to make.”
The Democrats who made the video believe the video said they had a very specific standard in mind.
When asked what kinds of orders service members should ignore, Crow, one of the lawmakers in the video, pointed to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
“The purpose is to remind people of their oath and their obligation to the Constitution and their obligations under the UCMJ, which are very clear,” Crow said.
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The UCMJ, passed by Congress in 1951, governs a gamut of issues service members may be penalized for, ranging from desertion to committing war crimes. The video posted by the lawmakers Tuesday does not mention the UCMJ by name.
Houlahan said that code should clearly delineate what’s permissible and what isn’t.
“Well, as an example, we are not supposed to use our military against our own citizens. Full stop. This is why the Uniform Code of Miliary Justice exists,” Houlahan said.
She noted that there are ways for service members to appeal orders they are concerned about.
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“You have an obligation to know and respect your chain of command. You do have, however, a chain of command that you can go through where you can elevate those requests if you believe them not to be either lawful or appropriate, and that’s what I’m encouraging, and my colleagues are encouraging people to do,” Houlahan said.
The Department of War did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
— Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report
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