On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump officially nominated retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security. It was reported last week that Trump would tap Kelly, but Trump had not yet formally offered him the position as Kelly was out of the country.
"Gen. John Kelly's decades of military service and deep commitment to fighting the threat of terrorism inside our borders makes him the ideal choice to serve as our secretary of the Department of Homeland Security," Trump said in a statement. Trump also noted Kelly was "the right person to spearhead" the job of "stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders."
Kelly served in the military for four decades. Before retiring, he was chief of U.S. Southern Command, which is in charge of military operations in Central and South America. Kelly has been critical of President Obama's plans to close Guantanamo Bay and his decision to allow women to serve in combat roles.
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 is the third general invited to serve in Trump's White House, alongside retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who will be national security adviser, and retired Gen. James Mattis, who was chosen to be defense secretary.
-
How ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has brought out the worst in its fansIn the Spotlight Amazon’s love-triangle hit ‘driving some of the most bonkers and unhinged online energy in the history of the internet’
-
Human evolution may be responsible for autism ratesUnder the radar Neurodiversity and a complex brain may go hand in hand
-
Crossword: September 17, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
