Khaberni - The White House condemned, on Wednesday, a call by six Democratic legislators to the U.S. military and intelligence elements to reject what they described as "illegal orders" issued by President Donald Trump's administration.
Democrats from both the Senate and the House, who have military and intelligence backgrounds, posted a video on the X platform on Tuesday saying, "This administration is putting our military and intelligence personnel in confrontation with our American citizens."
The lawmakers, including Senator Mark Kelly, a former member of the U.S. Navy and NASA astronaut, and Senator Elissa Slotkin who served in the CIA in Iraq, said, "Today the risks to our constitution come not only from abroad, but also from here, within our country." They affirmed, "You (members of the military and intelligence) can refuse illegal orders."
They did not specify which orders are involved in this call, but the Trump administration has been heavily criticized for its use of U.S. forces both domestically and abroad.
Accusation of Extremism
Stephen Miller, Senior Assistant to the White House Chief of Staff, responded that "some senior Democrats are explicitly calling for the CIA and military officers to rebel against their commander-in-chief. Do not underestimate the dangerous extremism that the Democratic Party has reached."
Similarly, the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, criticized the video claiming that the Democrats involved in it suffer from "Stage Four Trump Derangement Syndrome," a term used by the right to mock the president's opponents.
The Republican president ordered the deployment of the National Guard in several Democrat-governed cities including Los Angeles and Washington despite local authorities' opposition, citing escalating crime to justify his decision.
The United States has also carried out about 20 strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans targeting boats accused of transporting drugs without providing evidence, resulting in at least 83 people killed.
Experts have challenged the legality of these strikes, considering them "extrajudicial executions."
