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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., urged U.S. service members to “refuse illegal orders” Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened to wipe out Iran’s “civilization.”
“The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to Trump’s Truth Social post. “To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat.”
Trump appeared to issue a warning about bombing some of Iran’s civilian infrastructure in an effort to persuade the country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, among other demands. The president set a deadline of 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Ocasio-Cortez’s denunciation comes as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers on the party’s leftward flank have called for Trump to be impeached, though that effort will likely face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled House. Some Democrats have also urged the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment in an attempt to remove Trump from power — a highly unrealistic outcome.
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U.S. Air Force plane flies before landing in Moron military airbase, southern Spain. (Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters)
Ocasio-Cortez, a leading progressive lawmaker, joined Democrats Tuesday in supporting Trump’s removal from power.
House Democratic leadership notably stopped short of calling for Trump’s ouster in a statement issued Tuesday.
The Democratic leaders instead urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to immediately reconvene the House and vote on a war powers resolution to block Trump from further military action. The chamber is currently in a district work period until the week of April 13.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is pictured speaking during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. At right is President Donald Trump speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Liesa Johannssen/Reuters; Mandel Ngan/AFP)
“It’s time for House Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping this madness,” the group, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote.
The White House fired back at Democrats’ messaging in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“This is pathetic. Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since before he was even sworn into office,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s plea to U.S. service members comes after the Department of Justice opened an investigation in 2025 into six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a video urging troops and members of the intelligence community to reject “illegal” orders from the government. The lawmakers included Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., as well as Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan and Chris DeLuzio, D-Pa.
Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, from left, Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, and Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, during a news conference ahead of the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg)
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A grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict those lawmakers in February in a notable setback for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
Kelly warned Trump earlier this week against moving forward with targeting non-military infrastructure in Iran.
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“Illegal orders to make civilians suffer would be a black mark on our military and our country,” the Arizona Democrat wrote on social media.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment.
