Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has clashed with the White House in recent days as his agency scrambled to enact President Donald Trump's travel ban order, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The retired Marine general fought off attempts by the White House to put immigration hard-liner Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, into the position of deputy at the agency, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.
According to the Journal, Kelly also has been frustrated at not getting details about the executive order earlier so he could prepare his agency on its response, the Journal reported.
Trump signed the order Friday, but Kelly was informed of the details that day, as he was traveling to Washington, according to the Journal.
Kobach, an early Trump supporter, was part of Trump's transition team on immigration, leading to speculation about his possible pick as head of Homeland Security in the new administration.
The Hill reported Kobach was the principal author of Arizona's strict immigration law, several pieces of which were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012. And over the summer, he drafted planks of the GOP's national platform regarding immigration policy, The Hill noted.
During the 2012 election, he also advised presidential nominee Mitt Romney on the concept of "self-deportation," The Hill reported.