NEW YORK: (APP) President-elect Donald Trump has decided to name retired Marine Corps general John Kelly, a veteran of combat in Iraq, to lead the Department of Homeland Security, US media said Wednesday.
Kelly would be the third retired general -- all of them former Marines -- to be named to cabinet-level positions in Trump's administration.
The impending appointment was widely reported in the US media but not confirmed by Trump's transition office, apparently because Kelly is out of the country.
Kelly, 66, is a former head of the US Southern Command and was the commanding general of Multi-National Force-West in Iraq from 2008 to 2009.
He was promoted to general in March 2003 while in combat in Iraq, the first such battlefield promotion of a Marine colonel since 1951.
His youngest son was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.
Trump has picked an unusual number of retired generals for his cabinet, including retired general James Mattis as defense secretary and retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn as national security adviser.