John Kelly called Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren an 'impolite arrogant woman' in 2017 email

Following a phone call with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) last year about the Trump administration's travel ban, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly fired off an email to his top aide calling Warren "an impolite arrogant woman."

Using a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, BuzzFeed News obtained a copy of the email, sent Feb. 8, 2017, from the Department of Homeland Security. At the time, Kelly was the department's secretary, and Kevin Carroll was his senior counselor. "Absolutely most insulting conversation I have ever had with anyone," Kelly wrote to Carroll. "What an impolite arrogant woman. She immediately began insulting our people accusing them of not following the court order, insulting and abusive behavior towards those covered by the pause, blah blah blah."

In response, Carroll wrote it was "too bad Senate Majority Leader McConnell couldn't order her to be quiet again! Warren is running for president so early, trying too hard, and chasing bad pitches." A day earlier, Warren had been silenced by McConnell (R-Ky.) as she read a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King opposing the nomination of Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general, to a federal judgeship.

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A person with knowledge of the phone call between Kelly and Warren told BuzzFeed News her office had been trying to get information on constituents who were detained at Boston's Logan International Airport, and Kelly avoided her calls then denied that she ever tried to reach him. Kelly has had a lot to say about women in politics — last year, he falsely accused Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) of taking credit for the development of an FBI field office video, saying she was an example of "empty barrels making the most noise." He refused to apologize.