Dem veterans break silence after viral video causes backlash on social media: 'Frustrated'

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 mentioned on Wednesday I m enormously frustrated with the way that this very sensible video is being interpreted in a really insidious way AS SQUAD TURNS ASSIMILATION INTO DIRTY WORD EXPERT URGES US LEADERS TO RENOUNCE FOREIGN LOYALTIESHoulahan 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 stated 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 solicited to carry out airstrikes off the coast of Venezuela might be engaging in illegal strikes and disclosed that selected pilots had expressed concern about their involvement PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER CALLS ON NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO DEFY DEPLOYMENT ORDERSRepublicans responding to the exhortation mocked it as an example of Democratic paranoia towards Trump It s Stage TDS Secretary of War Pete Hegseth mentioned in a post to X referring to Trump derangement syndrome a moniker for the Democrat fixation on the president Sen Eric Schmitt R-Mo explained 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 Area to intervene Sounds a little subversive to democracy -ish Schmitt disclosed When petitioned about the video Sen Jack Reed D-RI the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee mentioned that he supports the exhortation in principle but noted that it s sometimes challenging to parse out what s permissible and what isn t You can t disobey the constitution Reed reported The issue though on a practical sense to me is that determination is often very tough to make The Democrats who made the video believe the video reported they had a very specific standard in mind When urged 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 mentioned SEN BLACKBURN FIRES BACK AT DEMOCRATS OVER DISTURBING VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO DEFY 'ILLEGAL' ORDERSThe UCMJ passed by Congress in 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 reported 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 reported She noted that there are techniques 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 disclosed The Department of War did not straightaway respond to a request for comment Jasmine Baehr contributed to this analysis