Ex-Joint Chiefs chairman: I’m ‘extremely concerned’ about generals serving in Trump admin

The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Obama expressed concerns about the role of military officials in the Trump administration during an interview on Sunday. 

Retired Adm. Mike Mullen told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that he is “extremely concerned” about generals such as White House chief of staff John Kelly holding political roles in President Trump’s White House due to their lack of political experience. 

{mosads}”Jim Mattis, and John Kelly and H.R. McMaster are not politicians, but they’re operating in this political world inside the White House,” Mullen said. “It is a tough, difficult, political environment.”

“To see John Kelly, and I’ll be very specific, politicize, you know, the death of his son to support the political outcome for the president was very, very distressing to me, but speaks to the power of that environment and, quite frankly, to the lack of understanding that any of us in the military have about that environment until we get in it and have to operate in it,” he said. 

Mullen’s comments come as speculation swirls around the future of Kelly’s role in the White House. 

Axios reported on Saturday that Kelly threatened to quit last month after Trump decided to fire former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, while The Washington Post published a story suggesting that Kelly was losing his power in the White House.

Trump hit back at the speculation in a tweet on Sunday. 

The Washington Post is far more fiction than fact. Story after story is made up garbage – more like a poorly written novel than good reporting. Always quoting sources (not names), many of which don’t exist. Story on John Kelly isn’t true, just another hit job!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018