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Democrats and Republicans heard two very different takeaways when a group of Democratic lawmakers called on U.S. servicemembers not to carry out certain orders in a video that went viral on social media on Tuesday.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., one of the lawmakers featured in the video, expressed exasperation with how critics had framed its message.
“I’m not telling people to ignore orders,” Houlahan said on 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, alongside five other Democrats with military or intelligence experience, had encouraged servicemembers to not 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-NH.
The video did not give an example of what specific kinds of orders servicemembers might have to refuse.
In a separate post to X, Slotkin hinted that servicemembers 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.
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Republicans responding to the exhortation mocked it as an example of Democratic paranoia towards 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 Democrat 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-RI, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that he supports the exhortation in principle but noted that it’s sometimes difficult to parse out 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 servicemembers 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 things servicemembers can get penalized for, ranging from desertion to committing war crimes. The video posted by the lawmakers on 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 servicemembers to appeal orders they are concerned about.
“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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