New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander joined five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds in an online video Tuesday to advise members of the U.S. armed forces that they should refuse to carry out “illegal orders.”
The video didn’t identify any specific order or U.S military action as “illegal,” but the message comes at a time of flaring tension between Democrats and the Trump administration over the administration’s deployment of the National Guard to patrol American cities and military strikes against Venezuelan drug cartels that are believed to have killed more than 80 people.
“Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” the Democrats said as they took turns reading a single statement. “Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders. “
“Don’t give up the ship,” the message ended.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA analyst who served in Iraq, led the messaging effort. It comes on the heels of Sloktin introducing legislation aimed at limiting the president's power to deploy National Guard troops in American cities.
“I’ve joined my colleagues in sending a clear message to our brave women and men in uniform,” Goodlander said in a statement. “We stand with you at a moment when you have been put in a terrible position by a president and a secretary of defense who are testing the boundaries of the law here at home.”
In addition to Goodlander — a former U.S. Naval Reserve intelligence officer — the video features Navy veteran and former astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona; Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, who also served in the Navy; Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger; and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, an Air Force veteran.
Republicans in Washington and Concord were quick to denounce the video.
“Democrat lawmakers are now openly calling for insurrection,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted on social media.
“Maggie Goodlander’s behavior is reckless and beneath the office she holds,” Jim MacEachern, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, said in a statement that also compared the video message to “encouraging treason.”
The video and its political blowback comes as some House Democrats are pushing for a vote to halt Trump’s military actions against the overseas drug cartels without congressional approval. Senate Democrats have failed to win support for similar votes in that chamber.
