Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) said in a new interview that White House chief of staff John Kelly "loves the cover and veneer of a general but won't live the integrity of it."
"When I was in the Marine Corps, if I had lied and didn't have the integrity to own up to it I would have been dropped down in my rank," Gallego said in a BuzzFeed News interview. "Kelly loves the cover and veneer of a general but won't live the integrity of it."
"He's always been a culture warrior since he took off the stars," Gallego said. "This is someone who openly lies about a congresswoman and then when confronted with his lies won't apologize."
Gallego's critique was in reference to comments Kelly made earlier this month about Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson (Fla.). Kelly was criticizing the congresswoman for politicizing a phone call President Donald Trump had with the family of Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed in Niger.
"It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation—absolutely stuns me," Kelly said. "And we were stunned—stunned that she'd done it. Even for someone that is that empty a barrel, we were stunned."
Kelly was criticized for describing a time when Wilson spoke at a building dedication ceremony. He commented how he and others thought the congresswoman inappropriately took credit for securing funds for the new Miami-area FBI building.
The Sun Sentinel had video of the building dedication ceremony, which did not show Wilson taking credit for the building's funding, but did show her boast of shepherding legislation to name the building after two FBI agents who were killed in a 1986 gunfight.
In a Monday interview with Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, Kelly was asked if he would ever apologize, and said he stands by his comments.
"Oh, no. No. Never. Well, I'll apologize if I need to. But for something like that, absolutely not," Kelly said. "I stand by my comments."
Kelly also faced criticism for his Monday comments on Fox News about Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
"I would tell you that Robert E. Lee was an honorable man," Kelly told Ingraham. "He was a man that gave up his country to fight for his state, which 150 years ago was more important than country. It was always loyalty to state first back in those days. Now it’s different today. But the lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War, and men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience had them make their stand."
Gallego said the criticisms are who Kelly is, and people have to accept it.
"Everyone needs to accept that he is who he is—he is going to be used as a weapon so don't be distracted by what he used to have on his lapel," Gallego said.