John F. Kelly Biography | John F. Kelly | Who is John F. Kelly?
John Francis Kelly (born May 11, 1950) is a member of the board of directors for Caliburn International and the retired U.S.
Marine Corps general who served as the White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump from July 31, 2017, to January 2, 2019. He had previously served as Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration.
Kelly enlisted in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and then 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 the 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.
Kelly was selected as the first Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration. 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.
Prior to joining the Trump administration in January 2017, Kelly had been on the board of advisors of DC Capital Partners, an investment firm that now owns Caliburn.
Following his departure from the White House, Kelly joined the board of directors for Caliburn International and was seen in April 2019 touring the facilities of Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, operated by Caliburn subsidiary Comprehensive Health Services, Inc
John F. Kelly Age | How Old is John F. Kelly?
John Francis Kelly is a member of the board of directors for Caliburn International and a retired U.S. Marine Corps general who served as the White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump from July 31, 2017, to January 2, 2019. He was born on May 11, 1950, in Boston, MA. John F. Kelly is 69 years old as of 2019
Early life And Education
Kelly was born on May 11, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Josephine “Honey” (Pedalino) and John F. Kelly. His family was Catholic, his father of Irish ancestry and his mother of Italian descent.
His father was a postal worker in Brighton. He grew up in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Before he reached the age of 16, he hitchhiked to Washington state and rode the trains back, including a freight-hop from Seattle to Chicago.
He then served for 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 1970, when his mother told him that his draft number was coming up, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in an infantry company with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was discharged to the inactive reserve as a sergeant in 1972 so that he could attend college.
He returned to active duty with the Marines in 1975, completed Officer Candidates School, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on December 27, 1975.
In 1976, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston and in 1984, he received a Master of Arts degree in National Security Affairs from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.
In 1995, Kelly graduated from the National Defense University in Washington, DC with a Master of Science in Strategic Studies.
White House Chief of Staff
Trump-appointed Kelly to the post of White House Chief of Staff on July 28, 2017, replacing Reince Priebus. Priebus’s ousting and Kelly’s appointment followed an internal power struggle within the White House. Kelly took office on July 31, 2017.
That same day, with Trump’s approval, Kelly removed Anthony Scaramucci from his role as communications director, just ten days after Scaramucci was appointed to that role.
Reportedly, Kelly had requested permission to remove Scaramucci after “Scaramucci had boasted about reporting directly to the president, not the chief of staff.” On August 18, 2017, Kelly removed Steve Bannon from his role as White House Chief Strategist, on behalf of President Trump.
Early into his tenure, media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and FiveThirtyEight speculated that Kelly would bring moderation and discipline to the White House.
In August 2017, early into Kelly’s tenure, the Washington Post wrote that Kelly had “left no discernible imprint on the White House’s philosophy” and that it was unclear if he would bring calm and rigor to the White House.
In a lengthy article on Kelly’s tenure, the New York Times on October 2017 wrote that “for all of the talk of Mr. Kelly as a moderating force and the so-called grown-up in the room, it turns out that he harbors strong feelings on patriotism, national security, and immigration that mirror the hard-line views of his outspoken boss.”
By February 2018, Kelly had emerged as a hardliner on several issues (immigration, in particular) and been embroiled in a number of controversies, and there were reports of pressure on Kelly to resign.
When Donald Trump arrived in Singapore on June 2018 for the North Korea–United States summit, the New York Times reported that Kelly had told a recent group of visiting senators the White House was “a miserable place to work.” The reported comment renewed months-long speculation that Kelly would resign from his job of White House Chief of Staff.
According to several news outlets in early 2018, Kelly’s influence in the White House had been diminished and Trump made several key decisions without his presence.
On December 7, 2018, CNN and others reported that Kelly and Trump were no longer on speaking terms and that Kelly was expected to resign in the coming days.
On December 8, Trump announced that Kelly would be leaving at the end of the year. On December 14, 2018, the White House announced that Mick Mulvaney would replace John Kelly as the White House Chief of Staff.
Controversies
DC Capital Partners conflict of interest
In January 2017, The Intercept reported that Kelly failed to disclose his position as vice-chair on the Spectrum Group, a defense contractor lobbying firm, on his ethics, form while taking a position at the department of homeland security.
Kelly’s membership on the board of DC Capital Partners and its for-profit detention facilities at the Southern Border has called into question his conflict of interest as the detention facilities have been described as private for-profit concentration camps.
In July 2019, the House Oversight Committee announced it was probing Kelly’s conflict of interest in the camps while he was the White House Chief of Staff.
Frederica Wilson dispute
In October 2017, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-FL) criticized Trump for his phone call to the widow of a slain U.S. soldier, saying his remarks had been insensitive. Wilson had been in the widow’s car when Mr. Trump had called her.
A few days later, Kelly held a press briefing where he defended Trump’s phone call, which he had overheard, saying Trump “expressed his condolences in the best way that he could.”
Kelly harshly criticized Wilson, calling her “the empty barrel that makes the most noise” and stating that in a 2015 speech Wilson had “stood up” to inappropriately claim credit for securing federal funding for an FBI building in her district.
Video of her 2015 speech showed his description to be inaccurate. Later that month, while in an interview with conservative commentator Laura Ingraham, Kelly said he stood by his comments on Wilson and would “never” apologize for his comments.
Kelly said he would “talk about before her comments and at the reception afterward” as a “package deal”, but refused to elaborate further.
The firing of White House aide Rob Porter
On February 7, 2018, White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned in the wake of reports that his two ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse, allegations that Porter said are false and “a coordinated smear campaign”.
One ex-wife had a protective order from 2010 against Porter, and the other had photographic evidence of the alleged abuse. The protective order had prevented Porter from obtaining a full security clearance, though the order’s associated ex-wife said Porter’s “integrity and ability to do his job is impeccable”.
According to an unnamed senior administration official, Kelly was aware of the protective order and the domestic abuse allegations and had promoted Porter within the White House.
Approached by media about the allegations, Kelly initially praised Porter, saying he was a “man of true integrity and honor, and I can’t say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional.
I am proud to serve alongside him.” Per an unnamed White House official, Porter resigned over the objections of Kelly, who had worked closely with Porter since becoming White House Chief of Staff.
In a February 8 email to White House staff, Kelly wrote, “While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence very seriously.
Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society”. On February 9, 2018, The Washington Post reported that Kelly had instructed senior staff and aides to tell reporters that Kelly took immediate action to fire Porter upon hearing that domestic abuse allegations were credible;
the Post noted this “version of events contradicts both the public record and accounts from numerous other White House officials in recent days as the Porter drama unfolded.”
Kelly told reporters on March 2, 2018, that he sought Porter’s resignation immediately after learning of the accusations on February 6 and regretted his handling of Porter’s departure.
The firing of Omarosa Manigault
In August 2018, a tape was released of Kelly firing White House staffer Omarosa Manigault in the Situation Room, and allegedly threatening her legally as well as reputationally, stating to the employee: “I’d like to see this be a friendly departure,” Kelly says on the tape.
“There are pretty significant legal issues that we hope don’t develop into something that, that’ll make it ugly for you.” When questioned whether the President knew of the firing, Kelly replied: “The White House staff, and everybody on the staff works for me and not the president.”
Kelly’s use of the Situation Room to isolate and fire the employee also led to controversy about the potential misuse of the high-security facility by Kelly, as well as the fact he was unknowingly recorded within it.
John F. Kelly Wife, Children, Family | Who is John F. Kelly Married to?
Kelly has been married to Karen Hernest since 1976. They raised three children together: Robert, John Jr., and Kathleen.
On November 9, 2010, Kelly’s 29-year-old son, First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in action when he stepped on a landmine while leading a platoon of Marines on a patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan.
The younger Kelly was a former enlisted Marine and was on his third combat tour, his first combat tour as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer. At the time of his death, Robert Kelly was with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
Robert Kelly’s death made John Kelly the highest-ranking American military officer to lose a child in Iraq or Afghanistan. Kelly’s other son is a Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel.
John F. Kelly’s son Death
First Lieutenant Robert M. Kelly, United States Marine Corps…
1st Lt. Robert Kelly was killed on November 9th, 2010, he was a man of great character but is remembered fondly for his outstanding humor.
Rob was quick-witted, he was always one to be making jokes or have a sarcastic quip ready. He won his wife, Heather, over with his sense of humor when they first met in college. By the time they were married, he joked that Heather was his toughest critic after all those years – if he could make her laugh with a new joke, he knew it was a winner.
First Lieutenant Robert M. Kelly was born in Bethesda, Maryland on 5 September 1981. He graduated from Garfield Senior High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.
After graduating from Florida State University with a B.A. in history, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2003. He graduated basic training in January 2004 and checked into the School of Infantry – East, where he graduated as an assault man.
As a Private First Class, Kelly was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, serving as an anti-tank assault man. During his tour, he participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 and 2006.
He also participated in Special Marine Air-Ground Task Force Katrina Hurricane Relief Operations in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Having been promoted to Corporal, Kelly reported to Combat Instructor Company, The Basic School in October 2007 and served in Weapons Platoon. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in December 2008 after graduating from Officer Candidate School.
After graduating from Infantry Officer Course in September 2009, he was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
Lieutenant Kelly completed a winter package at Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California, as well as completing Enhanced Mohave Viper Training at 29 Palms, California.
He served as 1st Platoon commander for Company L. In September 2010 Kelly deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He was posthumously promoted to First Lieutenant in November 2010. First Lieutenant Kelly’s personal awards include the Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Combat Action Ribbon with one gold star. He is survived by his wife, Heather, his parents, John and Karen, his brother, John and his sister Kathleen.
John F. Kelly Height | How Tall is John F. Kelly?
John Francis Kelly is a member of the board of directors for Caliburn International and a retired U.S. Marine Corps general who served as the White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump from July 31, 2017, to January 2, 2019. Who has a height of 6ft 1in (186 cm) tall as of 2019
John F. Kelly Net Worth
John Francis Kelly is a member of the board of directors for Caliburn International and a retired U.S. Marine Corps general who served as the White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump from July 31, 2017, to January 2, 2019.
He had previously served as Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration. John F. Kelly has an estimate of a net worth of $4 million dollars as of 2019
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