Two new candidates have emerged as contenders for President-elect Donald Trump's administration for Department of Homeland Security secretary.
Retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly and Frances Townsend, a Homeland Security official during the George W. Bush administration, according to The Washington Post.
Gen. Kelly, who served more than 40 years, has opposed the closing of the prison in Guantanamo and has noted his concerns with opening combat unit positions to women.
The retired general met with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Sunday and had a "frank discussion about the global national security situation," according to a Trump transition team statement.
Townsend had a 13-year career at the Justice Department, holding senior positions and serving as assistant to former President George W. Bush for homeland security and counterterrorism, as well as the attorney general's counsel on intelligence policy.
Townsend gaining the position could counteract charges that Trump's choices have been lacking in diversity, according to the Post.
The Department of Homeland Security is the third-largest Cabinet department, and its responsibilities include combating terrorism, protecting the president, and enforcing immigration laws. The secretary would oversee the building of Trump's proposed Mexican-U.S. border wall, the Post reported.
Other possible candidates for the position are Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, ex-Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke, and Kansas' Secretary of State Kris Kobach, according to the Post.
Kobach was photographed carrying a plan for the department into a Trump meeting on Sunday. Kobach wrote Arizona's stringent immigration law and has influenced the president-elect's immigration viewpoints, according to the Post.
Transition team members appeared to address concerns that Trump's appointments so far have been white men.
On Monday, the Post reported that transition officials said that Trump's appointments would be a "broad and diverse" group.
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