Good Thursday evening. In this edition: Appeals courts appears skeptical of Pentagon's effort to punish Sen. Kelly.
Plus, Iran war, tariffs, Jeffries, Pope Leo and Lula.
Kelly v. Hegseth
A federal appeals court appeared inclined to reject Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's effort to punish Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a former Navy captain, over a video he participated in last year urging service members to refuse illegal orders.
The case carries major implications for the free speech rights of retired military members and marks the latest flashpoint in President Trump's use of government power against his perceived political opponents.
Two of the three judges hearing the case in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals signaled they would side with a lower court that found Secretary Hegseth violated Sen. Kelly's free speech rights by attempting to censure him and cut his retirement rank and pension over the video.
"These are people who served their country," Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, said during the arguments. "Many of them put their lives on the line, and you're saying that they have to give up their retired status in order to say something that is a textbook example — taught at West Point and the Naval Academy — that you can disobey illegal orders."
In the video, posted on social media last November, Sen. Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds reminded service members of their obligation to disobey unlawful orders.
President Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and shared a post on social media calling for the lawmakers to be hanged.
"Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL," he wrote on Truth Social. "Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won't have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET."
The Pentagon argues Sen. Kelly's remarks undermined good order in the military and that he could only advise active-duty service members if he voluntarily gave up his rank and pension.
John Bailey, a lawyer for the administration, said the senator's statement constituted a "wink and a nod" encouraging service members to refuse lawful orders.
Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, appeared more sympathetic to the administration's argument, questioning whether Sen. Kelly's speech as a retired officer was protected.
She suggested that if Sen. Kelly could be recalled and court-martialed at any time, other Pentagon disciplinary tools for retired service members could also apply.
Sen. Kelly and his legal team rejected that argument, saying he was being targeted for protected political speech.
"Last year, I said something that the president didn't like … That service members need to follow the law," the senator told reporters outside the courthouse. "The president said I should be prosecuted and hanged. Then he tried to throw me in jail."
The Arizona Democrat, also a former NASA astronaut, said he signed up to serve his country and protect its freedoms, including the freedom of speech.
"Most of us joined to be part of something bigger than ourselves — to protect and serve the country we love," he said. "I know Donald Trump doesn't understand, and he doesn't understand us. And sadly, it seems that Pete Hegseth doesn't understand that either."
The U.S. and Iran again traded fire, leading to American strikes on Iranian territory and testing the limits of the fragile ceasefire that took effect early last month. U.S. Central Command said Iranian missiles, drones and small boats attacked three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz, and that it "eliminated" the threats. In response, the U.S. targeted Iranian military facilities it said were responsible for the attacks on American forces, including "missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes." Iran claimed the U.S. violated the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker on Wednesday as it attempted to evade the U.S.'s naval blockade.
A federal courtruled against President Trump's 10% global tariffs, dealing a second major blow to his efforts to collect duties on foreign goods without congressional approval. In a 2–1 ruling, the U.S. Court of International Trade found the administration lacked the legal justification to impose the global duties under a 1974 trade law. The president imposed the tariffs earlier this year after the Supreme Court rejected most of his initial "Liberation Day" levies enacted in April 2024. The trade court's ruling calls for the administration to stop collecting tariffs and to refund prior payments. The case was brought by 24 states and a group of businesses who filed the suit in March.
President Trumpcalled for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to be charged with "INCITING VIOLENCE" in a Truth Social post, arguing his call for "maximum warfare" in Democrats' response to GOP redistricting efforts inspired last month's White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting attempt. The Democratic leader responded in an Instagram video, saying he stood by his comments and would not be intimidated. "The Knicks are up two-zip and I'm feeling good and then I got to wake up this morning and deal with another deranged rant from an out-of-control president threatening to criminally prosecute me," Rep. Jeffries said. "You ain't intimidating a damn person."
Secretary of State Marco Rubiomet privately with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican amid unprecedented turmoil in U.S.–Holy See relations over the Iran war. The State Department said in a readout of the meeting that Secretary Rubio and the pontiff discussed the Middle East conflict and areas of shared interest in the Western Hemisphere, reflecting the secretary's Tuesday press briefing in which he said the main topics would include peace and humanitarian efforts in Cuba. Secretary Rubio's visit comes in the wake of President Trump's sharp criticism of Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, and Vatican criticism of U.S. military efforts in Iran. The president has repeatedly argued that the pope's opposition to the war amounts to support for Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, something the Vatican denies.
President Trumphosted Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a closed-door meeting at the White House. President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the two leaders discussed trade and tariff policy and said the meeting went "very well." Mr. Trump and Mr. Lula, a leftist, have clashed in the past over U.S. tariffs on Brazil and over Mr. Trump's vocal support for Mr. Lula's far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted and sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for inciting a self-coup after losing reelection in 2023.
For your radar…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks Friday with David Axelrod, former adviser to President Obama, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN2 at 6pm ET.
