Trump taps retired Marine Gen. John Kelly for homeland security


President-elect Donald Trump will invite a third general to a top White House position, offering retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, 66, the position of secretary of homeland security, The New York Times confirms. Kelly will join retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who will serve as national security adviser, and retired Gen. James Mattis, who has been nominated for defense secretary, as former military men tapped for Trump's administration. As Politico notes, Kelly's selection may make slimmer the chances of retired Gen. David Petraeus for secretary of state, as many generals have already been nominated for White House positions.
The Department of Homeland Security, established after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, helms border and immigration control, both of which are issues Trump had made central to his campaign. In the past, Kelly has clashed with President Obama on the decision to open combat roles to women in the military as well as the administration's plans to close Guantanamo Bay.
After four decades in the military, Kelly recently retired as the chief of U.S. Southern Command, which oversaw military operations in Central and South America. Kelly is also one of the most senior military officers to have lost a child in Iraq or Afghanistan; his son, 2nd Lt. Robert M. Kelly, was killed after stepping on a landmine in Afghanistan in 2010.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kelly has not yet been formally offered the position because he is out of the country, but a person briefed on the decision said he would be appointed next week when others are publicly named for remaining Cabinet positions, including secretary of state.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
‘Every argument has a rational, emotional, and rhetorical component’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
October 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include bad news overload, Donald Trump repeatedly crossing a red line, and the Statue of Liberty fallen on hard times
-
Scorching hot sauces that pack a punch
The Week Recommends The best sauces to tingle your lips and add a fiery kick to your food
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland