John Kelly Fights With White House Over Kobach Appointment, Travel Ban

John Kelly Fights With White House Over Kobach Appointment, Travel Ban


Monday, January 30, 2017 10:26 PM





By: Cathy Burke



Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has clashed with the White House in recent days as his agency scrambled to enact President Donald Trump's travel ban order, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.



The retired Marine general fought off attempts by the White House to put immigration hard-liner Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, into the position of deputy at the agency, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.



According to the Journal, Kelly also has been frustrated at not getting details about the executive order earlier so he could prepare his agency on its response, the Journal reported.



Trump signed the order Friday, but Kelly was informed of the details that day, as he was traveling to Washington, according to the Journal.



Kobach, an early Trump supporter, was part of Trump's transition team on immigration, leading to speculation about his possible pick as head of Homeland Security in the new administration.



The Hill reported Kobach was the principal author of Arizona's strict immigration law, several pieces of which were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012. And over the summer, he drafted planks of the GOP's national platform regarding immigration policy, The Hill noted.
During the 2012 election, he also advised presidential nominee Mitt Romney on the concept of "self-deportation," The Hill reported.


http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/homeland-security-john-kelly-kris-kobach-travel-ban/2017/01/30/id/771168/

WSJ: DHS Chief Pushed Back Against WH Attempts To Name Kobach His Deputy


January 31, 2017


In one of several recent clashes with President Donald Trump's administration, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly refused attempts by the White House to name Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as Kelly's deputy, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday night.


Per the Journal:

Mr. Kelly hasn’t been able to name the deputy he wants at the agency, people familiar with the matter said, and he fought off attempts by the White House to put Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state known as a hard-liner on immigration, into the position.

Kobach advised Trump's transition team and is known for pushing anti-immigration policies. He was the architect of measures in Arizona and Alabama that let law enforcement officers stop anyone they believed might be an undocumented immigrant. As Kansas secretary of state, Kobach has pushed to require voters to show proof of citizenship and has tried to drum up concern about voter fraud. Kobach said this month that he advised Trump on his immigration policy and on voter fraud.


Kelly suggested choosing Christian Marrone, former chief of staff to President Obama's DHS secretary, Jeh Johnson, as his deputy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Marrone had also worked in the George W. Bush administration and with Kelly at the Defense Department.


The White House announced on Monday that Trump will nominate Elaine Duke, who served at the DHS under President George W. Bush, to be Kelly's deputy.


The Wall Street Journal also reported that Kelly was unhappy that the Trump White House did not quickly make him aware of the order barring certain travelers from the U.S. despite asking for details for several days.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kelly-dhs-kobach-deputy

Why is Kelly fighting with White House over Kobach?? We all love Kris Kobach.

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Originally Posted by Judy

Why is Kelly fighting with White House over Kobach?? We all love Kris Kobach.

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Just my thinking but he appears to be at odds with the administration on some immigration matters. He is sympathetic to refugees coming here and to Muslims who he worked along with as General.

Kris Kobach, Stephen Miller, Jeff Sessions, Steve Bannon are the dream team on immigration. They are about immigration for the best interests of the United States and for the American people.

This is absolute B.S.! It sounds like Kelly is not the man we need or assumed him to be! His desire to have the former chief of staff to President Oboma's DHS secretary as his deputy is very telling of the direction he obviously would like to go with the DHS. I don't know about the rest of you, but this has me seeing red!! :-x

Kelly may be a fine border security czar, but this article has brought into question his suitability as Secretary of DHS. So now we know why Kris Kobach hasn't been given a job with DHS.

Elaine Duke picked as Homeland Security deputy secretary

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Monday, January 30, 2017

President Trump picked a little-known bureaucrat Monday with a long history in government management to be his deputy secretary at Homeland Security, disappointing immigration crackdown advocates who’d been anticipating a more prominent figure.

Mr. Trump tapped Elaine Duke, a former undersecretary of management at the department, who spent years managing the budgets and procurement for the sprawling Homeland Security enterprise.

She served as undersecretary under both President George W. Bush and President Obama.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...deputy-secret/

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Originally Posted by Judy

Elaine Duke picked as Homeland Security deputy secretary

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Monday, January 30, 2017

President Trump picked a little-known bureaucrat Monday with a long history in government management to be his deputy secretary at Homeland Security, disappointing immigration crackdown advocates who’d been anticipating a more prominent figure.

Mr. Trump tapped Elaine Duke, a former undersecretary of management at the department, who spent years managing the budgets and procurement for the sprawling Homeland Security enterprise.

She served as undersecretary under both President George W. Bush and President Obama.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...deputy-secret/

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Ouch!!! Talk about disappointment. Right now I'd like to climb to the top of Mt. Everest and scream my bloody head off!

Very disappointing. Surely there was someone closer to Kobach that would be acceptable. I hope President Trump picks Kris Kobach for Immigration Czar or some other position.

If Kelly was left somewhat out of the final decisions on the refugee Executive Order, I can see why.

It looks like General Kelly is used to giving orders instead of taking them. He's going to need to readjust.

(Older article)

Is Trump’s Pick for Homeland Security a Trojan Horse?

By Ed Kilgore




Observers fearful of the Trump administration’s intentions in the array of important issues (like immigration and terrorism) in the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were probably relieved when word came down the next secretary of DHS would be retired Marine General John Kelly. Yes, Kelly is often described as a “border hawk,” and he also pleased conservatives by resisting the closing of the Guantanamo Bay interrogation facility. But he was also a top military aide to two Obama defense secretaries, and had indicated he was open to service in either a Trump or Clinton administration.


Perhaps most important, Kelly is not Kris Kobach, the fiery crusader against immigration “amnesty,” alleged voter fraud, and nefarious Muslim plots to rob Americans of their priceless heritage of freedom. The name of the Kansas secretary of State, who is a big-time national celebrity among hard-core conservatives, had often been mentioned in connection with the DHS gig.


But before anyone starts celebrating over Kobach’s continued confinement in Topeka, it might be wise to pay attention to some intel the Washington Examiner provided earlier this week:

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly are likely to be tapped for secretary and deputy secretary of homeland security, according to a top transition official familiar with the president-elect’s current thinking, but the source would not reveal which of the two men is favored for the top post and which is likely to be deputy secretary.

If that is correct, it is entirely possible Team Trump decided to make the less controversial Kelly — who faces a much easier Senate confirmation — the figurehead at the top of DHS, while installing Kobach as his deputy with special responsibilities for immigration and anti-terrorism policy. And there is also the option of placing Kobach at the Justice Department with authority over enforcement of immigration and voting laws. Crediting the upcoming administration with a “moderate” cabinet appointment might be accurate but also misleading.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/is-trumps-pick-for-homeland-security-a-trojan-horse.html

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Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

(Older article)

Is Trump’s Pick for Homeland Security a Trojan Horse?

By Ed Kilgore




Observers fearful of the Trump administration’s intentions in the array of important issues (like immigration and terrorism) in the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were probably relieved when word came down the next secretary of DHS would be retired Marine General John Kelly. Yes, Kelly is often described as a “border hawk,” and he also pleased conservatives by resisting the closing of the Guantanamo Bay interrogation facility. But he was also a top military aide to two Obama defense secretaries, and had indicated he was open to service in either a Trump or Clinton administration.


Perhaps most important, Kelly is not Kris Kobach, the fiery crusader against immigration “amnesty,” alleged voter fraud, and nefarious Muslim plots to rob Americans of their priceless heritage of freedom. The name of the Kansas secretary of State, who is a big-time national celebrity among hard-core conservatives, had often been mentioned in connection with the DHS gig.


But before anyone starts celebrating over Kobach’s continued confinement in Topeka, it might be wise to pay attention to some intel the Washington Examiner provided earlier this week:

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly are likely to be tapped for secretary and deputy secretary of homeland security, according to a top transition official familiar with the president-elect’s current thinking, but the source would not reveal which of the two men is favored for the top post and which is likely to be deputy secretary.

If that is correct, it is entirely possible Team Trump decided to make the less controversial Kelly — who faces a much easier Senate confirmation — the figurehead at the top of DHS, while installing Kobach as his deputy with special responsibilities for immigration and anti-terrorism policy. And there is also the option of placing Kobach at the Justice Department with authority over enforcement of immigration and voting laws. Crediting the upcoming administration with a “moderate” cabinet appointment might be accurate but also misleading.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/is-trumps-pick-for-homeland-security-a-trojan-horse.html

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Yep, we were all hoping it would go this way. However, it has become obvious that Kelly convinced Trump to keep Kobach out of the DHS. It would be nice to know why Kelly disapproves of Kobach. Could it be because he (Kelly) is not fully on board with the full enforcement of our immigration laws where interior enforcement is concerned? I guess our support of Kelly was premature. Furthermore, I guess this also explains why Kelly breezed through the confirmation process with no resistance from the Democrats.

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And there is also the option of placing Kobach at the Justice Department with authority over enforcement of immigration and voting laws.

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To me this could be an even better role for Kobach, because as Deputy of DHS, there is a lot of budget and internal administrative management involved in the job. We'll see. But I was glad to see the White House fighting for a big post for Kobach.

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Originally Posted by Judy

To me this could be an even better role for Kobach, because as Deputy of DHS, there is a lot of budget and internal administrative management involved in the job. We'll see. But I was glad to see the White House fighting for a big post for Kobach.

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I disagree. I think Kobach would have been the perfect choice to deal with "budget and internal administrative management" issues. To me it looks like Kelly doesn't see eye to eye with Kobach on immigration enforcement. My biggest question is, where do they differ?

IMO, this should be very concerning to us all.

This is a great disappointment. The only reason John Kelly would oppose the appointment of Kris Kobach as Deputy of DHS is because Kelly opposes the crackdown on illegal immigration Americans want that propelled Trump and Kelly into power!

By blocking Kris Kobach for DHS, John Kelly just put his foot out to trip the entire movement that swept Trump into power so historically!

By fighting to place an Obama minion followed by a Bush minion in as his deputy indicates John Kelly's desire to return to or stick with the pro-amnesty policies of the past and thus deprive Americans of the change we seek on immigration issues.

It is very clear now that John Kelly was a huge mistake for DHS.

William Gheen
President of ALIPAC
www.alipac.us

Sad to recognize that President Trump took orders from General John Kelly. Before General Kelly was nominated he should have been asked if working with Kris Kobach was a problem.

Kelly is not on my favorite's list. He appears to have issues with the refugee situation, too.

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Kobach advised Trump's transition team and is known for pushing anti-immigration policies. He was the architect of measures in Arizona and Alabama that let law enforcement officers stop anyone they believed might be an undocumented immigrant

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This is a false statement so I question the rest of the article. I hope that the rest is not true either.

There is a DHS press conference on now. Sounding very good so far. Lets don't jump to conclusions before we hear from Kelly and the DHS team in place right now.

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Originally Posted by Judy

There is a DHS press conference on now. Sounding very good so far. Lets don't jump to conclusions before we hear from Kelly and the DHS team in place right now.

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I remain hopeful that it will all be good. As much as President Trump wants Kris Kobach he will surely find a great role for him.

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Originally Posted by Judy

There is a DHS press conference on now. Sounding very good so far. Lets don't jump to conclusions before we hear from Kelly and the DHS team in place right now.

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I seriously doubt they're going to discuss Kelly's aversion to having Kobach as part of the DHS team.

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Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

Sad to recognize that President Trump took orders from General John Kelly. Before General Kelly was nominated he should have been asked if working with Kris Kobach was a problem.

Kelly is not on my favorite's list. He appears to have issues with the refugee situation, too.

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Right, right, and right!

General Kelly acknowledges that other people know more about immigration than he does at this time.

General Kelly turns to Kevin McAleenan to answer many of the questions. He is acting head of CBP.

General Kelly says that over one billion Muslims have access to the United States.

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Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

General Kelly acknowledges that other people know more about immigration than he does at this time.

General Kelly turns to Kevin McAleenan to answer many of the questions. He is acting head of CBP.

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Yep, and Kris Kobach is one of them.

President Trump's obvious affinity for high ranking military officers probably had something to do with Kelly's selection. Not to say that is a bad thing, just saying that may be why Kelly got the push to the head of the line in the selection process.

General Kelly did acknowledge that this action was President Trump's plan over a year ago. The President is following through with the Executive Order action he signed last week.