WASHINGTON – Four Georgia congressmen are backing a new House resolution that denounces a group of fellow lawmakers for appearing in a video about refusing unlawful military orders. Republicans say the video amounted to “dangerous and seditious rhetoric.”

Georgia congressmen sign on to resolution

What we know:

Reps. Rick Allen, Mike Collins, Buddy Carter, and Andrew Clyde are among 27 GOP members who signed onto the measure, which criticizes six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the video. Those six are Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Christopher Deluzio, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan. All have backgrounds as veterans or former members of the clandestine service.

In the video, the lawmakers advise current service members about their duty under U.S. military law to disobey illegal orders. The resolution argues the message created “an environment placing troops and their loved ones at risk of harm, compromising and undermining the national security.”

At least fourteen of the 27 co-signers report prior military service, including Georgia’s Rep. Clyde.

What the resolution states

What they’re saying:

The resolution condemns six Democratic lawmakers for a video urging service members and intelligence personnel to refuse what they called illegal orders. 

The measure argues the lawmakers offered no evidence that such orders exist and says their message encourages insubordination, threatens the chain of command, and violates long-standing military law. 

It accuses the group of undermining confidence in the armed forces and asserts their statements place troops and their families at risk. 

The proposal reaffirms the President’s authority as commander in chief and denounces the remarks as dangerous and seditious rhetoric.

Pentagon probes video

The backstory:

The video at the center of the controversy was released Nov. 18 by six Democratic lawmakers, all of whom previously served in the military or intelligence community, who told service members they could refuse illegal orders. In it, the group tells service members they have a duty to refuse illegal orders, framing the message as a reminder of their oath to the Constitution. 

According to the Associated Press, the Pentagon opened a preliminary investigation because Rep. Mike Kelly is a retired Navy captain and remains subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Defense officials said they were concerned the message could erode the chain of command, noting that military orders are presumed lawful unless clearly illegal. 

The AP reports the lawmakers provided no examples of unlawful orders, and Kelly later said he had not witnessed any. Critics argue the video could undermine discipline, while the lawmakers say they were reminding troops of their duty to uphold the law.

What is Article 92 of the UCMJ?

Dig deeper:

Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice makes it a crime for a service member to fail to obey a lawful order or regulation. 

Military orders are presumed to be lawful, and service members who refuse them risk court-martial unless the order is clearly illegal under U.S. or international law. 

The standard is intentionally strict in order to protect the chain of command and ensure that individual service members are not left to interpret orders based on personal beliefs or political views.

Congressional in-fighting

Why you should care:

It is rare for the House to formally rebuke sitting members of Congress, particularly over matters involving national security. 

Disputes between lawmakers are typically handled through floor debate, committee oversight, or public statements rather than resolutions denouncing specific colleagues. 

The move highlights the degree of concern some Republicans say they have about the potential impact of the video on military discipline and the chain of command, and reflects an unusually direct confrontation between members of Congress over how their words may influence active-duty troops.

Will it reach a vote?

What’s next:

The proposal was introduced Thursday and sent to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for review. No word on if the resolution will ever reach the House floor for a full vote.

The Georgia Bulldogs will be without several starters in the SEC championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide. In fact, both teams are extremely banged up entering Saturday’s SEC championship.

Georgia has six players out for the game and safety Zion Branch has an injury designation (questionable) that popped up on Thursday. It is unclear what Branch’s injury is. Alabama has eight players out for the game and four players that are questionable to play.

Georgia running back Chauncey Bowens has been battling injuries and has not had a carry since he left in the fourth quarter of the Texas game. Bowens does not appear on the injury report, but he’s clearly not 100%.

Bowens is not the only injured Georgia running back. Freshman Bo Walker is out. “Bo is not going to be with us,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after Walker was reportedly involved in a car crash. “He was required to have a surgery. He’ll be out for this game.”

There’s one final game to be played this season within the Southeastern Conference, with the SEC Championship kicking off in Atlanta on Saturday. Now, two days out from the top-ten matchup, we have a better idea of who’ll be taking the field for Alabama vs. Georgia.

With this game, we have our final updates made to the SEC Availability Report. An initial one was already released on Wednesday, with another one to come on Friday, for the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs.

Kickoff is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Here is that updated injury report from the SEC for Alabama as well as Georgia:

Alabama

Georgia

On Wednesday, Alabama had the more notable of the two reports to start, with eleven designations in total and four of those still undetermined for the Crimson Tide. The most important of those were obviously with questionable designations on their offense for Miller, their leading rusher with 493 yards and three touchdowns, and Cuevas, their top tight end with 341 yards and four touchdowns, and on their offensive line with Dewberry. Other names like Riley, their second-leading rusher, as well as Overton and Kirkpatrick Jr. were then already labeled as out for ‘Bama.

Georgia then had six designations, with all of them already labeled as out for the SEC Championship. Young, their second-leading receiver on the season, Jones and Hall on their defense, and Bobo on their offensive line were the most notable of the six already to be unavailable for the ‘Dawgs this weekend when they’ll be back inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.