Western Montana Congressman and former Navy SEAL Commander Ryan Zinke, along with Representative Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and 16 other veteran lawmakers, introduced a resolution this week condemning several Democratic lawmakers for urging members of the U.S. military and intelligence community to independently judge and refuse orders from the Commander in Chief.
The resolution specifically targets Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Representatives Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Christopher Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), citing their November 18, 2025, video in which they accused the Trump Administration of “pitting” the military and intelligence community against American citizens. In the video, the Democrats encouraged servicemembers and intelligence professionals to assess the legality of presidential orders on their own and pledged support if they refused orders they deemed “illegal.”
“When pressed for evidence of unlawful orders, Senator Slotkin admitted she was ‘not aware of things [orders] that are illegal,’” the resolution notes.
The resolution denounces the lawmakers’ statements as “dangerous and seditious rhetoric” and stresses that encouraging military disobedience risks violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and undermines national security. It cites case law establishing that military orders are presumed lawful unless obviously unlawful, and that disobeying orders based on personal judgment carries serious consequences.
“If adopted, the House of Representatives would hold that it denounces the dangerous and seditious rhetoric spewing from these six Members of Congress that has led to an environment placing troops and their loved ones at risk of harm, compromising and undermining the national security of the United States,” the resolution states.
The resolution is co-sponsored by a broad group of veteran lawmakers, including Abraham Hamadeh (R-Ariz.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Scott Franklin (R-Fla.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Sheri Biggs (R-S.C.), Keith Self (R-Texas), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Jim Baird (R-Ind.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Mark Messmer (R-Ind.), Randy Fine (R-Fla.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Rick Allen (R-Ga.), Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), and John H. Rutherford (R-Fla.).
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, emphasized that the resolution is intended to protect the integrity of the military chain of command and ensure that U.S. troops are not placed in a position where following lawful orders could be questioned or politicized.