White House chief of staff John Kelly joked Thursday that God “punished” him when he was tapped by President Trump to serve as chief of staff, forcing him to leave his post as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
“Truly, six months, 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,” Kelly said during a Department of Homeland Security event commemorating the agency’s 15th anniversary. “But I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess.”
Chief of Staff 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.” pic.twitter.com/t3ofEumKAi— ABC News (@ABC) March 1, 2018
Kelly, addressing the crowd of Department of Homeland Security employees, said he misses “every one of you every day.”
The former Marine Corps general led the Department of Homeland Security from January 2017 to July 2017. Trump announced via Twitter last summer Kelly would replace Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff.
Many were encouraged by Kelly’s hiring and believed he would instill order to a chaotic West Wing, which he has attempted to do.
Reflecting on his time overseeing the Department of Homeland Security, Kelly said he wished he would’ve worked harder to protect the agency employees, who he said “get beat up so badly every day,” and more effectively tell the public how good they are at their jobs.
“You take the face shots every single day from people who don’t have a clue what they’re talking about or have an agenda against you,” Kelly said. “I did the best I could, but in retrospect, I could’ve done better. But you can bet in the job I’m in now, I spend a great deal of my time making sure people understand who you are, what you do. But I wish I would’ve worked harder in that regard.”
