New Hampshire Senate President Sharon Carson is calling on U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander to resign from office in response to the first-term Democrat’s video message urging members of the military to question their orders from the commander in chief.
Carson, a U.S. Army veteran and mother of an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves, is one of many elected officials and military veterans outraged by Goodlander’s participation in a video calling President Donald Trump a threat to the Constitution and suggesting that men and women in uniform disobey orders they receive from the administration.
“If Congresswoman Goodlander thinks it’s acceptable to tell service members to disregard orders, she has absolutely no business serving in Congress. She should resign,” Carson said in a statement Wednesday. “At the very least, she should apologize to every man and woman who has ever taken the oath she chose to trivialize. The chain of command isn’t optional. The oath isn’t optional. And elected officials don’t get to play footsie with ideas that undermine both.”
Goodlander is one of six Democratic lawmakers featured in the video, along with Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.). All six have military or intelligence backgrounds. Goodlander served a decade in the Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer.
“Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk. This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” Goodlander and her fellow Democrats tell service members in the video.
“Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” they added. “You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.”
Critics say the message could be interpreted as encouraging treason. At a minimum, they say, it serves to sow doubt inside the military.
“Our military is not a prop. You don’t drag service members into your political games. You don’t suggest, even indirectly, that they should ignore orders because you don’t like the president,” Carson said. “As a veteran, and as a mother with a daughter in the Army Reserves right now, I find it offensive and dangerous.”
On the Jack Heath radio show Wednesday morning, NH-01 GOP congressional candidate Anthony DiLorenzo was asked about the video.
“Tell me how that serves the people. It’s treasonous. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
Goodlander’s GOP opponent in the 2nd Congressional District, Lily Tang Williams, also criticized the freshman Democrat, who once served in the Biden Department of Justice.
“Can you imagine what would happen if Republicans in Congress made this under the Biden administration?” Williams asked in a social media post.
“Congresswoman Goodlander’s partisan rhetoric puts doubt and division into our soldiers. As a mother of two veteran sons, I can’t imagine how military families would feel if their children were placed in harm’s way with ‘leadership’ like this.”
Goodlander declined to respond to NHJournal’s request for comment. Late Wednesday, however, she spoke to WMUR, where she denied claims she is encouraging members of the military to disobey orders.
“I am absolutely not encouraging anyone to do anything other than to follow the law. And our laws are clear: You obey lawful orders, and you do not obey unlawful orders,” Goodlander said.
She went on to attack the civilian leadership of the U.S. military, specifically Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, whom she accused of not being committed to following the Constitution. “What we see is a trend of commitment to an individual president,” she said.
NHJournal asked her three colleagues in New Hampshire’s all-Democrat congressional delegation — all of whom are supporting Goodlander’s reelection — whether they support her stance. All three declined to comment.
One New Hampshire Democrat did step up on Goodlander’s behalf.
Christian Urrutia, a candidate in the NH-01 Democratic primary and a captain in the New Hampshire Army National Guard, defended Goodlander.
“Rep. Goodlander has served this country with real distinction, in uniform and in Congress. She speaks with authority, and she is right,” Urrutia said in a statement.
“As a special counsel in the Department of Defense, I fought to make sure our military followed the law and the Constitution. I fought to keep illegal, torture-tainted evidence from Guantanamo out of our courts. We need more leaders who have actual depth in these issues and will stand up for the rule of law and the Constitution. I always will.”
(Urrutia’s campaign noted that he was responding as a candidate for Congress, not in his capacity as a military officer.)
One Democrat who didn’t like Goodlander’s video is retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, a former Clinton administration official and frequent MSNBC guest.
“This action by Democrats is unwarranted and dangerous. Focus on your own responsibilities in Congress to oppose military actions that you believe are wrong or illegal. Support the judicial system push back. Do not call on the military to stop Trump,” McCaffrey posted on social media.
Democrats have struggled to win support from America’s active-duty military and veterans. A 2024 exit poll found that of the 12 percent of voters who said they had served in the armed forces, 65 percent voted for Donald Trump and just 34 percent voted for Kamala Harris.
The new video isn’t likely to help, critics say.
“Goodlander voted to deny our troops their pay by voting to shut down the government, and now she slaps them in the face again by appearing in this video,” Carson said.
“Goodlander’s irresponsible actions have the potential to put our active-duty troops in real harm’s way,” Carson added. “Military units must act as a team, and if even one member of that team suddenly begins ignoring orders because they simply don’t like the current president, it puts everyone’s lives at risk.”
