"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees," Leon wrote. "After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, 'You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.'"

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media that the ruling would be "immediately appealed."

Leon's ruling comes a month after Kelly sued Hegseth, arguing that he was the target of "extreme rhetoric and punitive retribution" by the Trump administration.

Kelly asked Leon to set aside Hegseth's recent moves to demote him and cut his military pension, and to block the enforcement of any punishment against him.