Republican Representative Mike McCaul urged President Donald Trump to moderate his rhetoric regarding Democratic lawmakers on Sunday, November 23, 2025, as the dispute over military orders and threats of punishment for sedition continued to draw bipartisan criticism. The Texas congressman’s comments came during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week“, where he distanced himself from the president’s inflammatory statements.
“I would tone down the rhetoric and tone down the theme here. I would emphasize more what I discussed, and that is, these orders are not illegal,” McCaul told co-anchor Martha Raddatz. When pressed about Trump’s comments suggesting the death penalty for lawmakers, McCaul stated he does not speak for the president in terms of hanging members of Congress.
The controversy stems from a video released by six Democratic lawmakers with military or national security backgrounds, in which they reminded service members of their obligation to refuse illegal orders. The lawmakers featured in the video included Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, along with Representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan, and Maggie Goodlander.
Trump responded by accusing the lawmakers of seditious behavior and posted comments indicating such actions could be punishable by death. The president later referred to the lawmakers as traitors and declared on social media that they should be in jail rather than defending themselves to the media.
Senator Slotkin, who appeared alongside McCaul on the Sunday morning program, characterized Trump’s attacks as a tool of fear designed to silence critics. She suggested the president was attempting to distract from other significant news stories, including economic concerns and recently released documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Democratic senator explained that military officers had approached the lawmakers directly with concerns about potentially illegal orders, prompting them to create the video. She referenced the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which establishes that service members have both the right and obligation to refuse unlawful commands, a principle dating back to the Nuremberg Trials.
However, when Raddatz asked whether Trump had actually issued any illegal orders, Slotkin acknowledged she was not aware of anything specifically illegal. She did note there appeared to be legal gymnastics surrounding Caribbean strikes and actions related to Venezuela.
McCaul defended the administration’s military actions, particularly regarding Venezuela and strikes on alleged drug vessels. He argued these orders are based on Article 2 self-defense provisions of the Constitution to stop the threat of drugs entering the country and killing Americans. The congressman stated he does not believe anything illegal has occurred regarding these operations.
The White House has denied that Trump threatened death upon the lawmakers, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating the president has not issued illegal orders. Despite these denials, the Democratic lawmakers have reported receiving threats following Trump’s comments and have increased their security measures as a result.
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the controversy, reposting a clip from Slotkin’s interview on social media. He argued that if the president has not issued illegal orders, then members of Congress telling the military to defy the president would, by definition, be illegal.
The dispute highlights fundamental questions about military chain of command, constitutional authority, and the separation of powers. Military law establishes that service members must obey lawful orders but are obligated to disobey unlawful ones, with no protection provided for soldiers who follow illegal directives.
The controversy unfolded against a backdrop of heightened tensions over military deployment practices. Slotkin expressed particular concern about the use of U.S. military forces on American soil, noting that courts have overturned deployments of military personnel into city streets in locations including Washington, D.C.
The heated rhetoric has drawn criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum, with concerns raised about the appropriateness of threatening elected officials with capital punishment. The exchange between McCaul and Slotkin on the Sunday morning program illustrated the sharp divisions within Washington over presidential authority, military orders, and the limits of acceptable political discourse.
In a separate but related development, White House press secretary Leavitt used a July 7, 2025 shooting at a Border Patrol building in McAllen, Texas to call on Democrats to tone down their rhetoric against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents. The gunman, 27-year-old Ryan Louis Mosqueda, fired many dozens of rounds before being shot dead by federal officers.
Leavitt specifically called out Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and referenced comments by Representative Pramila Jayapal, who had previously said she gets inspired when activists obstruct ICE. The press secretary encouraged Democrats to meet with Border Patrol agents, describing them as honorable Americans simply trying to enforce immigration laws.
