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Kelly Downplays Trump Views at Hearing

Kelly Downplays Trump Views at Hearing

When President-elect Donald Trump nominated retired Marine Corps General John Kelly to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security, the selection was met with approval by Senators on both sides of the aisle. That support was evident during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, a session that only lasted a little over two hours.

Kelly, a retired U.S. Marine Corps 4-Star General whose military career spanned four decades, ended his service as commander of U.S. Southern Command.

In his opening statement, Gen. Kelly said he had “never had a problem speaking truth to power” and believed that “those in power deserve full candor and my honest assessment and recommendations.”

During the course of the hearing, he downplayed a series of Trump policies that were floated by the President-elect during his campaign, including a potential Muslim registry and prospects of using controversial harsh interrogation techniques, ones that Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) referred to as torture.

While campaigning, Trump said he may "bring back” waterboarding or other more extreme tactics in the fight against terrorism. But Kelly said he would abide by U.S. laws. "I don't think we should ever come close to crossing a line that is beyond what we as Americans would expect to follow in terms of interrogation techniques,” he said. He went on to agree that the Geneva Conventions should continue to serve as a guide for the United States.

Questioned about a Muslim ban, Kelly said, "I don't think it's ever appropriate to ever focus on something like religion as an only factor.”

He also downplayed the significance of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border, another Trump campaign pledge, saying "A physical barrier in and of itself will not do the job. It has to be a layered defense,” in reference to fighting drug trafficking.

“If you were to build a wall from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, you'd still have to back that wall up with patrolling by human beings, by sensors, by observation devices,” he added.

He said he would let the law “guide me” on dealing with the deportation of undocumented immigrants, admitting that it "probably would not be at the top of the list."

In contrast to Trump’s position on Russia’s role in the U.S. election, he said he accepted the findings of last week’s intelligence community report on Russian interference “with high confidence.”

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