John Francis Kelly (born May 11, 1950) is an American former political advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps general who was White House chief of staff for President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019.

[1] Before joining the Trump administration in January 2017, Kelly had been on the board of advisors of DC Capital Partners, an investment firm that owns Caliburn International.

[6][7][9] 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.

[6][11] 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.

After three years of instructing young officers, he attended the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the School for Advanced Warfare, both located at Quantico.

[11] Completing duty under instruction and selected for lieutenant colonel, he was assigned as commanding officer, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (1st LAR), 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California.

During his tenure, 1st LAR was called in to provide augmentation support for police in the city of Long Beach, California during the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

Holding this command position for two years, Kelly returned to the East Coast in 1994, to attend the National War College in Washington, D.C.

[14] Kelly has stated that during the initial assault on Baghdad he was asked by a reporter for The Los Angeles Times if, considering the size of the Iraqi Army and the vast supplies of tanks, artillery and chemical weapons available to Saddam's forces, he would ever consider defeat.

On December 7, 2016, then President-elect Donald Trump nominated Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a cabinet-level position.

[34] On May 2, Kelly stated his surprise in office holders "rejoicing in the fact that the wall will be slower to be built and, consequently, the southwest border under less control than it could be.

[36] In July, Kelly allegedly blocked Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke from taking a position in the DHS, though it was never confirmed.

[37] Of his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, USA Today wrote, "Kelly oversaw some of the most controversial policies of Trump's agenda, including a travel ban targeting several majority-Muslim countries, a reduction in refugee admissions and stepped-up deportations of undocumented immigrants.

"[42] On August 18, 2017, Kelly removed Steve Bannon from his role as White House chief strategist on behalf of President Trump.

[43] 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.

[51] When Trump arrived in Singapore in June 2018 for the North Korea–United States summit, The New York Times reported that Kelly had told a recent group of visiting American senators that the White House was "a miserable place to work.

"[60] Kelly released a statement in October 2023 confirming much of the 2020 reporting by Jeffrey Goldberg that Trump had expressed disdain for veterans and American servicemembers killed in action.

Kelly harshly condemned Trump in several respects, characterizing him as "a person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

"[61][62] In an October 2024 interview with Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times, Kelly again remarked on Trump's recent comments about using the military against the "enemy within" the United States.

Kelly said Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.

He confirmed previous reports that Trump had made admiring statements about Adolf Hitler and had expressed contempt for disabled veterans and those who had died.

[65] Caliburn CEO James Van Dusen said, "With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team."

Candidates in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries objected, including Cory Booker, who said Kelly's actions in joining the board were "disgusting," and Elizabeth Warren, who called his role, "corruption at its absolute worst.

[67][68] 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.

[80] 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.

[80][81] 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.

[83] 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.

[85] 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, saying to her: "I'd like to see this be a friendly departure.

[87][88] According to Wall Street Journal reporter Michael C. Bender in his 2021 book 'Frankly, We Did Win This Election': The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,[89] during a 2018 trip to France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, then President Donald Trump told Kelly, "Well, Hitler did a lot of good things", specifically pointing to the recovery of Germany’s economy in the 1930s.

The next day, Trump's spokesperson denied that the former president praised Hitler, calling the claim "totally false", as reported by the Washington Examiner.