Warren Questions Trump Military Nominee: Is It 'Sedition' for Someone in the Military to Question Whether an Order is Legal?

Nominee would be responsible for future military actions in Venezuela but said he would not say questions about the legality of orders is "seditious"

Video of Exchange (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. - At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Lieutenant General Francis Donovan, nominee to be General and Commander of the United States Southern Command, about declining to execute illegal military orders.

As SOUTHCOM Commander, Lieutenant General Donovan would be responsible for future military actions in Venezuela. The previous SOUTHCOM Commander, Admiral Alvin Holsey, reportedly had expressed serious concerns about being given illegal orders in the role. Lieutenant General Donovan explained that in his 37 years of experience, he has frequently consulted legal advisors to ensure the execution of military orders complies with the law. However, Lieutenant General Donovan refused to answer if he had previously received illegal orders, saying only that he would not use the term "sedition" to describe officers questioning whether an order is legal.

Senator Warren also questioned Lieutenant General Donovan on whether he would carry out an order that a legal advisor determined was illegal.

Lieutenant General Donovan said, "I will take that very seriously if my legal advisor says that is an illegal order…I will never carry out illegal orders."

Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced he was taking steps to censure and demote Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy Captain, for releasing a video with other lawmakers urging members of the military not to comply with illegal orders. President Trump accused all of the lawmakers in the video of "seditious behavior" and said they should be punished by death. The Department of Justice has reportedly also begun investigating the lawmakers involved with the video.

Transcript: Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Lieutenant General Francis L. Donovan, USMC to be General and Commander, United States Southern Command
Senate Armed Services Committee
January 15, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Nicolás Maduro was a terrible leader-there's no question about that. It does not change the fact that President Trump's military action to attack another country and seize Maduro was unconstitutional and threatens to drag Americans into a war they never voted for.

What does the President mean when he says the United States will "run" Venezuela for years? When he says "Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them and protect them we will." It sounds like another "forever" war.

Lieutenant General Donovan, you are nominated to lead Southern Command, which would make you the commander responsible for any future military actions in Venezuela. You won't make policy decisions, but service members will count on you to ensure that they are not asked to engage in military operations that are not legal. Now, according to press reports, your predecessor had serious concerns about illegal orders-that was not the case with these strikes.

General Donovan, is it 'sedition' for someone in the military to question whether an order is legal?

Lieutenant General Francis L. Donovan of the U.S. Marine Corps, Nominee to be General and Commander of the United States Southern Command: Senator, in my 37 years of experience, I received many orders over time and when I ever have faced a situation where I need to see clarity, I asked headquarters to clarify the task. And I come back and work on that with legal advisors, the Corps staff, Board of Commanders, senior enlisted leaders and present my thoughts to higher headquarters for their consideration.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: So, I think that what you're telling me is you have questioned whether an order is legal, is that right?

Lieutenant General Donovan: We face orders, we carry out missions, and so in that planning process, we look at all the aspects of each mission, each task, each order to ensure that we're structuring the Command, the Force, the Unit to achieve the objective.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: I appreciate that, General, but the question I'm trying to ask is: is it sedition for someone in the military to question whether an order is legal? And I thought I just heard you say that you had actually questioned orders and whether they were legal and you sought advice.

So, I will ask it one more time: is it sedition to question whether an order is legal?

Lieutenant General Donovan: Senator, I would not use the term 'sedition.' I would use the term that basically, good order and discipline, how we approach any situation where we had to accomplish the mission and provide the best capability for the task at hand.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: I'm sorry, I still can't understand your answer here. I'm just asking a straightforward question. You tell me you have questioned orders in the past-about their legality, is that right?

Lieutenant General Donovan: Senator, I have questioned orders when either one, I either didn't understand, I wasn't equipped to carry them out, and I needed clarity before I can actually execute those orders. That's just part of our planning process.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: But you have never questioned whether an order was legal? You've never wondered whether or not an order was legal and sought additional counsel on that?

Lieutenant General Donovan: Senator, in our planning processes, I always have a legal advisor at my side as a part of the planning process, so I always have leveraged those legal advisors to give me the best answer and in the end I'm responsible for the final decision to carry out or not carry out the order.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: We'll stop playing dodgeball here. You know, I felt that that was going to be the easy question leading to harder questions. Back in 2016, Secretary Hegseth was clear that service members have a duty not to follow illegal orders. Since then he has repeatedly made clear his contempt for legal review, including by sidelining military legal advisors-the people who are supposed to help you stay on the right side of the law. What I wanted to know is how you look at those issues.

So, let me try a different version of the question. General Donovan, if your legal advisor tells you that an order is illegal, would you refuse to carry out that order?

Lieutenant General Donovan: Senator, the legal advisor is one of many staff members that provide their advice as we look at the scenario and the situation at hand. I will take that very seriously if my legal advisor says that is an illegal order and I will seek clarification from higher headquarters.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Okay, and if somebody higher says no, what are you going to do at that point?

Lieutenant General Donovan: Senator, then I'd make a decision-using 37 years of experience-to carry out that order or not.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Okay, but your intention is not to carry out an illegal order? Is that right?

Lieutenant General Donovan: I will never carry out illegal orders, Senator.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: I appreciate that. That's what I want to hear. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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