John Kelly on Leaving DHS for White House: ‘God Punished Me’
The chief of staff said the last thing he wanted was to “walk away” from DHS.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
While at an event Thursday marking the 15th anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly, the current White House chief of staff and former head of DHS, jokingly said that he didn’t want to leave the agency but “God punished” him. “The last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the great honors of my life, being the secretary of Homeland Security, but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess,” he quipped. He then went on to say that he wished he “worked harder” in the six months he served as Secretary of Homeland Security, before replacing Reince Priebus as chief of staff. This comes as Kelly has faced scrutiny for his handling of the Rob Porter scandal and has reportedly been feuding with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
John Kelly: "The last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the great honors of my life, being the secretary of Homeland Security, but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess." (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/ZGNGVXh1MM
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 1, 2018
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