On November 18, 2025, a group of six Democratic lawmakers—all veterans of the U.S. military or intelligence community—released a highly stylized video message directed at active-duty service members and intelligence personnel, urging them to “refuse illegal orders” from the Trump administration. The participants included Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich., former CIA analyst), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz., former Navy pilot and astronaut), Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo., former Army Ranger), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa., former Air Force officer), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa., former Navy officer), and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H., former naval intelligence officer). Posted by Slotkin on X with the caption “Don’t give up the ship,” the tightly edited 90-second clip shows the lawmakers speaking in overlapping, synchronized lines for dramatic effect, repeatedly emphasizing: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.”

The video frames its message as a defense of the Constitution, with the lawmakers asserting that “threats to our Constitution are coming from right here at home” and accusing the administration of “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.” Although President Trump is never named, the timing and rhetoric make the target unmistakable, coming amid Democratic concerns over Trump’s domestic use of the National Guard for immigration enforcement, his authorization of lethal strikes on suspected narco-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, and broader fears of military deployment in U.S. cities. The lawmakers lean heavily on their own service records to establish credibility, reminding viewers that they, too, swore an oath to the Constitution—not to any individual leader.

The release ignited immediate fury from Republicans and the Trump White House, who branded it an unprecedented call for insubordination or even mutiny against a sitting commander-in-chief. Critics on the right labeled it “treasonous” and “an open invitation to insurrection inside the ranks,” while incoming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior Trump aides accused the Democrats of undermining civilian control of the military. Supporters of the video countered that reminding troops of their longstanding legal and ethical duty to disobey manifestly unlawful commands (a principle codified in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and reaffirmed after Nuremberg) is not sedition but responsible civic education—though the overtly political production, dramatic styling, and lack of specific examples of alleged illegal orders fueled charges that it was less about law and more about resistance to Trump’s agenda. By November 19, the clip had been viewed tens of millions of times, sharply deepening partisan divides over military loyalty in the early days of Trump’s second term.