Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is forgoing a promised court-martialing and taking a behind-closed-doors track to attempt to punish Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). The administrative move — which seeks to reduce Kelly’s retirement rank and military pension — is the latest in the bitter back-and-forth between the Trump administration and the retired Navy captain after

Yet Mr. Hegseth seems to believe that any criticism of him or his department is an offense deserving of punishment. His attack on Mr. Kelly's right to speak freely is un-American and blatantly partisan — and, for good measure, wildly hypocritical, given that Mr. Hegseth is on record making similar statements about unlawful military orders.