Personality

5 Things to Know About Gen. John Kelly, Trump's Pick to Lead Homeland Security

The job of planning and building Trump’s wall between the U.S. and Mexican will likely fall on Homeland Security, according to the Washington Post. And Kelly seems to share Trump’s view of border security — something he would’ve had a unique view of during his time heading up Southern Command.

In a 2014 interview with Defense One, he described illegal drug trade and the flow of undocumented immigrants into the U.S. as an existential threat to the nation.

And, in congressional testimony in 2015, he suggested smugglers could be bringing terrorists into the country. “Despite the heroic efforts of our law enforcement colleagues, criminal organizations are constantly adapting their methods for trafficking across our borders,” Kelly told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “While there is not yet any indication that the criminal networks involved in human and drug trafficking are interested in supporting the efforts of terrorist groups, these networks could unwittingly, or even wittingly, facilitate the movement of terrorist operatives or weapons of mass destruction toward our borders.’’