Pitched as Calming Force, John Kelly Instead Mirrors Boss’s Priorities
“The real issue is understanding really who John Kelly is,” said former Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta,
a Democrat for whom Mr. Kelly worked at the Pentagon during President Barack Obama’s administration.
But Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, who recommended Mr. Kelly to Mr. Trump last winter, said the retired
general’s background gave him an understanding of the dangers and drawbacks of unfettered immigration.
Mr. Kelly decided himself to head out to the White House briefing room to defend the president, colleagues said,
and most of his remarks reflected on his own experience as the father of a slain Marine and the nature of military service.
Mr. Kelly, she said, was not “the savior or the hostage.”
Other Democrats have expressed alarm at Mr. Kelly’s views on immigration.
Mr. Kelly not only expressed willingness to curb refugees coming into the country — in the end, Mr. Trump lowered the cap to 45,000
— he embraced Mr. Trump’s various attempts to close the border to visitors from a group of predominantly Muslim countries.
During a June meeting, Ms. Harris and Mr. Kelly engaged in a contentious back-and-forth as she questioned him about Trump administration threats to cut off funding for so-called sanctuary cities
that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
While some officials had predicted Mr. Kelly would be a calming chief of staff for an impulsive president, recent days have made clear
that he is more aligned with President Trump than anticipated.