White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended President Trump’s authority over the military on Monday, arguing that U.S. service members “can’t have” any hesitation about whether an order is lawful, even as Democrats continue stressing that troops are required to refuse illegal commands.

During an interview on Fox News, Leavitt accused Democratic lawmakers of giving “a wink and a nod” to the nation’s 1.3 million active-duty troops by reminding them of their legal responsibilities. She claimed Democrats were “essentially encouraging them to defy the orders of their commander-in-chief.”

“Not a single order this president or administration has given to our military has ever been illegal, nor will it ever be,” Leavitt said. “This administration respects and abides by the law.”

Leavitt went further, asserting that soldiers should not question commands in real time. “You can’t have a soldier out on the battlefield or conducting a classified order questioning whether that is lawful or whether they should follow through,” she said. “There must be a chain of command in our military.”

Her remarks stand in contrast to long-standing military law. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, service members can be criminally liable for obeying unlawful orders. The UCMJ explicitly prohibits actions such as murder, assault, rape, property destruction, and “all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.” Courts have repeatedly held that troops have a duty to refuse clearly unlawful commands.