Democrats Push Troops to Defy Trump — Then the Feds Come Knocking
Their “harmless” video just triggered FBI interviews, a Pentagon review, and the biggest military-political scandal of the year.
Good Morning, it’s Wednesday, November 26th, 2025.
Washington woke up yesterday expecting a slow holiday week — instead, six Democratic lawmakers lit a fuse under the national security establishment. After telling troops to “refuse illegal orders,” they now face FBI interviews, Pentagon scrutiny, and a White House that’s done tiptoeing around their resistance cosplay. Meanwhile, Ukraine quietly edges toward a peace deal and Trump’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood lands with shockwaves across the Middle East.
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Democrats Tell Troops to “Defy Trump” — and Now the FBI Wants Answers
The Left tried a cute little influence op. It just blew up in their faces.
What You Need to Know:
Six Democratic lawmakers with military/intel credentials dropped a viral video telling service members to “refuse illegal orders.”
The FBI and DOJ are now scheduling interviews — because when members of Congress nudge troops to ignore the Commander-in-Chief, that sets off every alarm in Washington.
The White House is calling it what it looks like: political sabotage wrapped in legalese.
Why It Matters:
This wasn’t a civics lesson — it was an open invitation to distrust Trump’s lawful authority.
Conservatives see yet another attempt to weaponize the “orange man bad” panic against the chain of command.
The left is pretending it’s about “rule of law,” while avoiding the obvious: they never named a single “illegal order.”
THE REAL STORY
This wasn’t a PSA. This was a coordinated attempt to plant doubt inside the U.S. military — and the people behind it knew exactly how far the message would travel.
The six lawmakers — Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, Reps. Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan, and Jason Crow — filmed the video like they were reading lines from a Pentagon ethics manual. Except the Pentagon didn’t ask for this. Their party did.
“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” they warned.
Neat line. Also meaningless without naming a single example.
Trump responded the way Trump responds: maximum voltage. “Seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH!” he blasted on Truth. And now? The federal government actually wants to know what these lawmakers were doing.
According to Fox reporting, the FBI and DOJ contacted Capitol Police this week to schedule interviews with all six. That means this isn’t just political theater — it’s being treated as potential misconduct, maybe worse.
The heat is especially on Sen. Mark Kelly, the retired Navy captain. The Department of War announced Monday it has launched a formal review into his involvement. Secretary Pete Hegseth even said Kelly could be recalled to active duty to face UCMJ charges. Translation: this isn’t symbolic. This is real.
Hegseth put it bluntly in a scorching post on X:
The video was a “politically-motivated influence operation” engineered to create ambiguity, undermine the chain of command, and reframe military obedience around partisan fear instead of established legal processes.
And he’s right.
In the military, clarity is oxygen. Ambiguity kills missions.
What these lawmakers did wasn’t “responsible.” It was strategic fog — dropped right after Trump reasserted his authority over Defense and intel agencies.
The left’s defense? “We’re just reminding troops of the law.”
Come on. If a Republican told federal workers to “refuse illegal orders” during the Biden years, The New York Times would have had to siphon ink from every state east of the Mississippi.
What They Don’t Want You to See:
“As veterans of various sorts, the Seditious Six knew exactly what they were doing — sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation.” — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
Bottom Line:
This wasn’t about “illegal orders.” It was about undermining a president they hate by whispering doubt into the ranks that protect the country.
The FBI circling these six lawmakers is a flashing red sign: Washington sees what happened.
And if the reviews escalate, the Biden-era “resistance politics” finally has a paper trail — and consequences.
Ukraine Blinks First in Peace Push
Ukraine has agreed to the framework of a peace deal with Russia — the clearest sign yet that Trump’s pressure campaign and back-channel diplomacy are reshaping the battlefield without firing a shot. After nearly four years of grinding conflict, U.S. officials say only “minor details” remain.
The talks in Abu Dhabi, led by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and closely synced with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, brought Ukrainian, Russian, and American teams into the same orbit — a diplomatic triangle Europe didn’t see coming.
Key Quote:
“Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms.” — Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security & Defense Council
Takeaway:
Trump’s peace plan is no longer theoretical — it’s becoming the off-ramp Kyiv and Moscow can’t ignore.
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Trump Sends a Message the Brotherhood Can’t Ignore
Trump’s move to designate key branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations isn’t symbolic — it’s a long-overdue correction to decades of Washington pretending not to see what’s right in front of its face. By targeting specific Brotherhood-linked networks instead of issuing a blanket designation, the administration sidesteps diplomatic landmines while tightening the vise on Islamist groups that have fueled jihadist movements for nearly a century.
The Brotherhood’s fingerprints are everywhere — from Hamas to U.S.-based activist groups born out of Brotherhood student networks. For years, the left insisted these were “moderate” organizations. Monday’s announcement shatters that illusion and brings policy back to reality.
Key Stat:
The Brotherhood’s credo still reads: “Jihad is our way, and dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
Takeaway:
This is Trump finally doing what Obama wouldn’t: calling the Brotherhood what it is — a global engine of Islamist extremism.
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Online privacy protections for teens get major attention in Congress as new legislation ramps up. Read more
DOJ and FBI launch interviews with six Democratic lawmakers who urged troops to refuse “illegal orders.” Read more
Together with The Ledger
The system’s blind spot is no longer political extremism — it’s strong-tie communities. Inside The Human Firewall, we broke down how churches, family networks, veteran circles, and parent groups are becoming “visibility gaps” the infrastructure is trying to close.
Once you see how the narrative matrix frames these groups as “unregulated influence networks,” you won’t unsee it. The map is inside the issue. So is the warning.
Thanks for reading The Daily Briefing. Today’s issue cut through the noise, exposed the spin, and laid out exactly why the “Seditious Six” story is far more than a political dust-up — it’s a test of loyalty inside America’s chain of command. When lawmakers urge defiance and then plead innocence, that’s not politics. That’s sabotage. And the fact that the FBI is already at the door tells you everything you need to know.
Some stories are too explosive to sit on. This one is going to define the week — and reshape the next phase of Trump’s second term.
~ Scott 🇺🇸
P.S. This wasn’t a misunderstanding or a messy “public service announcement.” It was a calculated attempt to seed distrust inside the military before Trump makes major moves at the Pentagon. They gambled that no one would call them on it — and they lost. What’s your read on their intent, and how far do you think accountability should go?
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