Michael Kelly

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Kelly enlisted in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and was commissioned as an officer near the end of college. He rose through the ranks, eventually serving in his last military post from 2012 to 2016 as a four-star general leading United States Southern Command, the unified combatant command responsible for American military operations in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Before joining the Trump administration in January 2017, Kelly had been on the board of advisors of DC Capital Partners, an investment firm that owns Caliburn International. Kelly was selected as the Trump administration's first Secretary of Homeland Security. Kelly earned a reputation for being an aggressive enforcer of immigration law. After six months, he was selected to replace Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff in an attempt to bring more stability to the White House. He was the first career military officer to serve in the position since Alexander Haig during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

In Their Own Story

In an April 2017 speech at George Washington University, Kelly said, "If lawmakers do not like the laws they've passed and we are charged to enforce, then they should have the courage and skill to change the laws. Otherwise they should shut up and support the men and women on the front lines." Kelly indicated days into the administration his interest in having the U.S.–Mexico border wall completed within two years. On April 21, 2017, Kelly said the U.S.–Mexico border wall would begin construction "by the end of the summer." Two days later, Kelly said he believed "a border wall is essential" as there were "tremendous threats" such as drugs and individuals coming into the US. On May 2, Kelly stated his surprise in office holders "rejoicing in the fact that the wall will be slower to be built and, consequently, the southwest border under less control than it could be." In May 2017, Kelly said of terrorism, "It's everywhere. It's constant. It's nonstop. The good news for us in America is we have amazing people protecting us every day. But it can happen here almost anytime." He said that the threat from terrorism was so severe that some people would "never leave the house" if they knew the truth.

Reader's Guide

Kelly's military career is marked by specific commands and combat experience. In April 2003, Kelly took command of the newly formed Task Force Tripoli and drove it north from Baghdad into Samarra and Tikrit. Kelly has stated that during the initial assault on Baghdad he was asked by a reporter for The Los Angeles Times if, considering the size of the Iraqi Army and the vast supplies of tanks, artillery and chemical weapons available to Saddam's forces, he would ever consider defeat. Kelly's response, as recounted by him at a 2007 San Diego Military Advisory Council networking breakfast, was, "hell these are Marines. Men like them held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima, Baghdad ain't shit." In a May 2014 speech regarding the war on terror, Kelly said: "If you think this war against our way of life is over because some of the self-appointed opinion-makers and chattering class grow 'war weary,' because they want to be out of Iraq or Afghanistan, you are mistaken. This enemy is dedicated to our destruction. He will fight us for generations, and the conflict will move through various phases as it has since 9/11."

Did You Know?

• Kelly was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Josephine 'Honey' (Pedalino) and John F. Kelly; his father was a postal worker in Brighton.
• Before age 16, he hitchhiked to Washington state and rode freight trains back, including a freight-hop from Seattle to Chicago.
• He served one year in the United States Merchant Marine, where he says 'my first time overseas was taking 10,000 tons of beer to Vietnam'.
• In March 2003, while in Iraq, Kelly was promoted to brigadier general, the first known promotion of a Marine Corps colonel in an active combat zone since Chesty Puller in January 1951.
• Kelly was confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security by the United States Senate with a vote of 88–11 on January 20, 2017.