A federal appeals court panel appeared skeptical Thursday of the Trump administration's effort to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over remarks urging service members to refuse unlawful orders — with judges seemingly astounded when the DOJ conceded Kelly never actually told troops to disobey lawful orders. The distinction matters: Kelly specifically called for refusing illegal orders, which service members have a legal right to do, but the Pentagon tried to frame it as insubordination. Multiple outlets report the appeals court appeared poised to reject the censure effort entirely, which would mark another legal loss for Hegseth on this issue.