U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan was in her Washington office when she saw attacks directed at her and other military veteran members of Congress from President Donald Trump, days after they urged members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”
Trump called the Democrats “traitors” in a Thursday post on Truth Social and, in a second post, accused them of sedition that he said is “punishable by DEATH.”
Houlahan, a Chester County Democrat and an Air Force veteran, was one of six Democratic members of Congress who released a video Tuesday contending that Trump’s administration is “pitting” service members and intelligence professionals against American citizens and urging them not to “give up the ship.”
All six lawmakers are either veterans or members of the intelligence community.
“The idea that the most powerful man on the planet, who wields the power of the United States military and should be emblematic of all the things we value in this republic, would call for the death and murder of six duly elected members of the House of Representatives and the Senate — I’m speechless and I’m devastated,” Houlahan told The Inquirer on Thursday afternoon.
Houlahan said she had anticipated there might be a response from the president after Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, spent much of Wednesday railing against the lawmakers in the video. But Trump’s comments went beyond anything Houlahan imagined even from a president known for extreme and sometimes violent rhetoric.
“I’ve been struggling with the right words for this,” she said. “‘I weep for our nation’ would be an understatement.”
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Navy veteran who was also featured in the video, called Thursday “a dark day in America” in an interview with The Inquirer.
“It tells me who he is and it tells me exactly why we should be talking about the rule of law and the Constitution,” said Deluzio, an Allegheny County Democrat.
In the video that set Trump off, the lawmakers, finishing one another’s sentences, reminded service members of their oath to the Constitution and instructed them to refuse to follow any order that would violate it.
“Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad,” Deluzio says in the video.
“But from right here at home,” adds U.S. Rep. Jason Crow (D., Colo.) a former paratrooper and Army Ranger.
The video was shared by U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.), a former CIA officer, and also included U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), a former Navy captain, and U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D., N.H.) a former intelligence officer.
Houlahan said she considered the video “innocuous.”
“It literally talked about the fact that you should follow only lawful orders, an obvious reminder that those of us who served have grown up on,” she said.
On Thursday morning, Trump shared a Washington Examiner article about the video with the headline “Dem veterans in Congress urge service members to refuse unspecified unlawful orders,” saying their message “is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country.”
“Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” the president wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
About an hour later, Trump added in his second post: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
Sedition and treason cases in modern U.S. history are very rare.
Democratic condemnations of Trump’s comments poured in from across the country Thursday. Republicans were more muted. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) defended Trump’s claim that the Democrats had engaged in “sedition,” describing the video as “wildly inappropriate.”
“It is very dangerous. You have leading members of Congress telling troops to disobey orders,” he told CNN.
Sen. Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican and U.S. Army veteran, who has called out political violence in the past, both after Charlie Kirk’s killing and an arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence, defended the president’s verbal attacks on the lawmakers. “Not a single unlawful order is cited in this video — because there aren’t any,” he said in a statement.
“The video is inappropriate and unwarranted, and I didn’t hear any of these calls to defy orders when Democrats were using lawfare against President Trump,” he added, “Giving outlandish pardons, or intimidating tech companies to stop free speech.”
About an hour later McCormick’s spokesperson sent a second comment from him, adding: “President Trump can speak for himself, but as I’ve said repeatedly, there is no place in either party for violent rhetoric and everyone needs to dial it down a notch.”
One of the few Republicans to offer any criticism of the president was U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, who said in a statement that in the FBI he saw “how inflamed rhetoric can stoke tensions and lead to unintended violence.”
Fitzpatrick, a moderate from Bucks County who has butted heads with Trump in the past, did not name him in the statement but said the “exchange” was “part of a deeper issue of corrosive divisiveness that helps no one and puts our entire nation at risk. Such unnecessary incidents and incendiary rhetoric heighten volatility, erode public trust, and have no place in a constitutional republic, least of all in our great nation.”
Houlahan and Deluzio respond
Houlahan served three years on active duty as an Air Force engineer and an additional 13 years as a reserve, and reached the rank of captain. She has been outspoken against the Trump administration on military issues, particularly surrounding women serving in combat roles.
The lawmakers did not refer to any specific orders from the president in their video, but they had numerous concerns in mind.
Houlahan said it was sparked, in part, by military troops being deployed to U.S. cities and lethal strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean.
Trump has suggested that American cities should be “training grounds” for the military, and targeted Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, and Portland for National Guard deployments. His administration’s boat strikes, which have led to protests in Philadelphia, have come under scrutiny by experts who say they are illegal, per the New York Times, which found Trump’s claims justifying the attacks to be questionable.
“What we were speaking to is the future, those who are currently serving, and making sure they remember who they serve and what they serve,” Houlahan said.
She said the lawmakers felt “a responsibility to … make sure people understood there are people in Congress who have your back.”
Deluzio pointed to reporting about concerns from military personnel who were deployed to U.S. cities. PBS reported this week that people in uniform have been seeking outside legal advice about some of the missions the Trump administration has assigned them.
“This is a guy who’s been documented in a meeting with the secretary of defense talking about shooting unarmed civilians in the legs,” Deluzio said, citing an account from former Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Deluzio said he learned about the oath the first day of boot camp and trained sailors on it when he gained rank.
“This is something that is fundamental to how our military works and the respect we show our service members,” he said.
Deluzio served six years in the Navy including three deployments. He cofounded the Democratic Veterans Caucus in June, which was formed in opposition to the Trump administration.
He said he has heard from people on both sides of the aisle and encouraged Republican colleagues to speak out publicly against the president’s remarks.
“Republican officials should be stepping up loudly and clearly and saying the calling of death by hanging to members of Congress is out of bounds,” he said.
James Markley, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Republican Party, declined to comment on Trump’s remarks and said in a text that “the woke left continues to attempt to rip apart the fibers of our communities and our country.”
“Our party will continue focusing on making our country safer, prosperous and more affordable,” he added.
A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, an Army veteran who is running for governor next year with the state GOP’s endorsement, did not respond to a request for comment.
Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has made a name for himself working across the aisle, said in a post on X that threatening members of Congress is “deeply wrong” without exception, regardless of political party.
“I strongly reject this dangerous rhetoric,” he said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro also quickly denounced Trump for calling for violence against Houlahan and Deluzio, describing them in a post on X as “two outstanding members of Congress from Pennsylvania who have fought for our country.”
“There should be no place for this violent rhetoric from our political leaders, and it shouldn’t be hard to say that,” said Shapiro, who has consistently spoken out against the threat of political violence since a politically motivated arsonist firebombed the governor’s mansion while he and his family slept inside in April.
Trump’s attack on Houlahan and other Democratic veterans marks the second time in two months Democratic lawmakers who served in the armed forces have been the subject of attacks from across the aisle.
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a Trump ally who represents parts of central Pennsylvania, told a conservative radio station in October that Democrats in Congress “hate the military,” based on their voting records.
Deluzio and Houlahan, both members of the House Armed Services Committee, also banded together then to push back on Perry’s comments, calling them “garbage.”
