Kelly Responds to Rep. Who Called Him 'Disgrace to the Uniform'

John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, responded to remarks from Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., in which the congressman criticized Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, calling him a "disgrace to the uniform."

Gutierrez made the comment Tuesday when he accused Kelly of lying about wanting to protect "Dreamers," people who were brought as children by illegal immigrants to America, in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

"General Kelly is a hypocrite who is a disgrace to the uniform he used to wear," the congressman said, according to the Washington Examiner.

"As far as the congressman and other irresponsible members of Congress are concerned, they have the luxury of saying whatever they want as they do nothing and have almost no responsibility. They can call people liars, but it would be inappropriate to say the same thing back at them," Kelly wrote in a Sunday email to Fox News.

"As my blessed mother used to say, 'empty barrels make the most noise,'" Kelly added.

"The congressman has a right to his opinion," the chief of staff noted in his email.

Kelly, in his email to Fox News, said that he had urged Congress to focus on DACA since President Donald Trump's administration took office. "I begged and pleaded with them. They did exactly nothing," Kelly wrote.

A spokesman for Gutierrez returned the criticism, according to Fox News. "We have seen no courage to fight for Dreamers from the president or his chief of staff," Gutierrez spokesman Douglas Rivlin said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., condemned Gutierrez' comments Wednesday, calling them "deplorable."

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