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Trump picks former marine general to head Homeland Security

Trump picks former marine general to head Homeland Security

Posted December. 09, 2016 07:11,   

Updated December. 09, 2016 07:22

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly (66) to head the Department of Homeland Security that is full charge of countering terrorism on U.S. mainland. This marks the second time that Trump has given a cabinet position to a former marine since he gave the post of defense secretary to “Mad Dog” James N. Mattis.

According to the New York Times, Gen. John Kelly fought in Iraq as a wartime commander and put an end to his 45 years of military service in January this year after serving as the head of the United States Southern Command. Like Mattis, Gen. Kelly was held in high regard in the military but suffered fraction with the Barack Obama administration owing to his outspokenness. He opposed Obama’s proposal to shut down the Guantanamo Bay and claimed that it would be a hasty decision to allow female soldiers to join such an elite military unit as the Navy Seal (special marine forces), considering the importance of maintaining combat power.

He is also a father who lost his child to war. In 2010, his son Robert, then 28 year-old first lieutenant in the marines, was killed in a bombing on a patrol mission in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Kelly’s speech, which was made in St. Louis four days after his son’s death, draw great attention as the general did not mention his son’s name at all and said, “It would be hypocrisy to say you appreciate the service of our soldiers yet choose not to support the goal or cause for our fight.”

Thanks to the latest personnel addition, the Trump administration has a total of three former generals in key positions including National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The Washington Post pointed out that while Gen. Kelly may well pass the Senate confirmation hearings, it would spread the impression that Trump prefers military officials too much.

Trump has appointed his friend and billionaire Linda McMahon, a co-founder of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), as head of the Small Business Administration. “Linda is going to be a champion for small businesses and unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit all across the country,” said Trump. The Washington Post was skeptical of how a wrestling ambassador and billionaire can contribute to cultivating small businesses, given that the amount of money that she and her husband currently hold stands at minimum 1.5 billion dollars.

Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of Oklahoma who has opposed the Obama administration’s climate change policies, has been appointed to lead the Environment Protection Agency. Pruitt has led a massive lawsuit case against a set of regulations such as a mandatory cut of greenhouse gas emissions and water protection policies imposed on steam power plants, so once he passes the confirmation hearings, it is expected that he will work in earnest to remove environment regulations.

So far, Trump has appointed the head of nine departments out of 15 government bodies (except for the White House). The appointment of state secretary, which is drawing heated attention, is likely to be announced next week. “I am still considering Mitt Romney as state secretary. We had some tremendous difficulty together, and now I think we’ve come a long way,” said the U.S. president-elect in an interview with NBC on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has reportedly known Russian President Vladimir Putin for a long time, is also being considered as a candidate for secretary of state.



Seung-Heon Lee ddr@donga.com