Likely picks for Homeland Security, Environment would be in line with Donald Trump’s campaign pledges
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Scott Pruitt (left) may lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and John Kelly (right) is expected to become Secretary of Homeland Security.
PHOTOS: AFP, EPA
Donald Trump is expected to appoint retired Marine general John Kelly, 66, a former chief of the US Southern Command, whose son was killed in combat in Afghanistan, to the key post of Secretary of Homeland Security.
And he is expected to name Oklahoma attorney-general Scott Pruitt, who has frequently challenged Federal environmental regulations, to lead the US' regulatory agency itself, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Multiple reports on Wednesday in the US, citing unnamed transition officials, reported Mr Trump had settled on the two names. There was no official confirmation however, from Mr Trump's transition team.
General Kelly would be expected, analysts say, to share the President-elect's hawkish position on the border with Mexico, and on immigration and terrorism.
Mr Trump has promised to "build a wall" on the border with Mexico; find and deport illegal immigrants; and severely curtail immigration and refugee intake especially from Muslim countries.
In July 2014, General Kelly called the border with Mexico an ''existential threat'' in terms of the steady flow of illegal drugs, weapons and people from Central America - and said much more funding and equipment was required to secure it.
Kevin Baron, executive editor of the online journal Defense One described General Kelly as "an outspoken, media-friendly combat veteran who lost a son to the war on terrorism and dozens of childhood friends to the War on Drugs".
The General told Defense One in 2014: "In comparison to other global threats, the near collapse of societies in the hemisphere with the associated drug and (undocumented immigrant) flow are frequently viewed to be of low importance.
And he is expected to name Oklahoma attorney-general Scott Pruitt, who has frequently challenged Federal environmental regulations, to lead the US' regulatory agency itself, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Multiple reports on Wednesday in the US, citing unnamed transition officials, reported Mr Trump had settled on the two names. There was no official confirmation however, from Mr Trump's transition team.
General Kelly would be expected, analysts say, to share the President-elect's hawkish position on the border with Mexico, and on immigration and terrorism.
Mr Trump has promised to "build a wall" on the border with Mexico; find and deport illegal immigrants; and severely curtail immigration and refugee intake especially from Muslim countries.
In July 2014, General Kelly called the border with Mexico an ''existential threat'' in terms of the steady flow of illegal drugs, weapons and people from Central America - and said much more funding and equipment was required to secure it.
Kevin Baron, executive editor of the online journal Defense One described General Kelly as "an outspoken, media-friendly combat veteran who lost a son to the war on terrorism and dozens of childhood friends to the War on Drugs".
The General told Defense One in 2014: "In comparison to other global threats, the near collapse of societies in the hemisphere with the associated drug and (undocumented immigrant) flow are frequently viewed to be of low importance.
"Many argue these threats are not existential and do not challenge our national security. I disagree."
The appointment of Mr Scott Pruitt, 48, was immediately decried by environmental groups. As head of the 15,000-strong EPA, he would be instrumental in dismantling regulations he had often fought before - in line with Mr Trump's pledge to eliminate ''job killing'' regulations in the energy sector for example.
Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), said in a statement: "The mission of the EPA and its administrator requires an absolute commitment to safeguard public health and protect our air, land, water and planet. That's the litmus test. By naming Pruitt, President-elect Trump has flunked.
"The American people did not vote to return to the country to the dirty old days or to turn a blind eye on dangerous climate change."
The NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organisation.
Earlier on Monday, Ms Suh wrote in a blog: "Over the past five years, Pruitt has used his position as Oklahoma's top prosecutor to sue the EPA in a series of attempts to deny Americans the benefits of reducing mercury, arsenic, and other toxins from the air we breathe; cutting smog that can cause asthma attacks; and protecting our wetlands and streams.
The New York Times on Wednesday (Dec 7) reported that it had obtained an email exchange from October 2011, that offered a "hint" of "the unprecedented, secretive alliance that Mr Pruitt and other Republican attorneys-general have formed with some of the nation's top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda."
"If confirmed, Pruitt seems destined for the environmental hall of shame," Ms Suh of NRDC tweeted.
The appointment of Mr Scott Pruitt, 48, was immediately decried by environmental groups. As head of the 15,000-strong EPA, he would be instrumental in dismantling regulations he had often fought before - in line with Mr Trump's pledge to eliminate ''job killing'' regulations in the energy sector for example.
Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), said in a statement: "The mission of the EPA and its administrator requires an absolute commitment to safeguard public health and protect our air, land, water and planet. That's the litmus test. By naming Pruitt, President-elect Trump has flunked.
"The American people did not vote to return to the country to the dirty old days or to turn a blind eye on dangerous climate change."
The NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organisation.
Earlier on Monday, Ms Suh wrote in a blog: "Over the past five years, Pruitt has used his position as Oklahoma's top prosecutor to sue the EPA in a series of attempts to deny Americans the benefits of reducing mercury, arsenic, and other toxins from the air we breathe; cutting smog that can cause asthma attacks; and protecting our wetlands and streams.
The New York Times on Wednesday (Dec 7) reported that it had obtained an email exchange from October 2011, that offered a "hint" of "the unprecedented, secretive alliance that Mr Pruitt and other Republican attorneys-general have formed with some of the nation's top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda."
"If confirmed, Pruitt seems destined for the environmental hall of shame," Ms Suh of NRDC tweeted.
