Who is John Kelly? Donald Trump’s former chief of staff – all you need to know
DONALD Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly has called his border wall as a "waste of money" and described working for the Republican president as awful.
The retired Marine General was one of Mr Trump's first confirmed appointments after he took charge in the White House.
Who is John Kelly?
John Kelly, 66, served in the US Marines Corp for 45 years including three tours in Iraq.
He retired last year as a four-star general in charge of the US Southern Command- responsible for military operations and liaison in South America and the Caribbean.
In that role he was in charge of the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay and argued against Barack Obama's policy of closing it.
His forces were also involved in tackling drug trafficking from South America, knowledge he will bring to his new job trying to stop drugs and migrants entering the US from Mexico.
The married father-of-three is the highest ranking US officer to have lost a child in the War on Terror.
His son Robert, a lieutenant in the Marines, stepped on a landmine while leading a platoon in Afghanistan in 2010.
What is John Kelly's new role?
Donald Trump has put John Kelly in charge of the Department of Homeland Security, a sprawling government department created by George W Bush after 9/11.
It includes some 23 federal agencies and 240,000 employees who do everything from patrol the borders and screen travellers at airports to guard the president and protect power grids.
The department is expected to take charge of building Mr Trump's promised wall along the 1,900-mile border with Mexico.
The president signed an order to begin work on the massive barrier, but will need to beg Congress for more funds to complete the project estimated at £20bn.
Gen Kelly will also be at the forefront of other controversial policies including curtailing immigration from Muslim countries and Mr Trump's pledge to round up and deport millions of undocumented Latino migrants.
What has John Kelly said about his role?
After he was nominated by Mr Trump, Gen Kelly said the American people had voted “to stop terrorism, take back sovereignty at our borders, and put a stop to political correctness that for too long has dictated our approach to national security”.
He added: “I will tackle those issues with a seriousness of purpose and a deep respect for our laws and constitution.”
He has previously been outspoken on some of the issues he will tackle and says he is "not afraid to speak truth to power" if he disagrees with his bosses.
He has describe the flow of drugs and illegal migrants across the Mexican border as an "existential" threat to the US, and even suggested Islamic terrorists could use the same route to launch atrocities on home soil.
READ MORE
But he has also acknowledged a huge and costly wall will not in itself stop migrants and smugglers getting through, adding technology such as drones and old-fashioned foot patrols are just as important.
Some critics are upset that he refused to give assurances to beneficiaries of Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects migrants who arrived as children from being deported.
However he did appear to contradict his boss on the issue of targeting Muslims based on their religion.
He told a Senate approval hearing his success as a commander in Iraq was partly based on reaching out to clerics and other Muslim leaders in the community.
What has John Kelly said since leaving office?
Kelly has torn into Trump's policies since he left the position in January 2019.
He called the border wall with Mexico a "waste of money" and said immigrants coming from central America were "overwhelmingly not criminals".
most read in world news
They’re people coming up here for economic purposes. I don’t blame them for that.
“We don’t need a wall from sea to shining sea."
He described the 18 months he spent as chief of staff as "the least enjoyable job" he'd ever had.