For someone who once claimed to “know more than the generals” about Isis, Donald Trump seems to crave the opinion of men in uniform.

With the likely nomination of John Kelly to run the homeland security department, Mr Trump will have chosen a third retired general for his national security team, after the selection of James “Mad Dog” Mattis as defence secretary and Michael Flynn, a controversial intelligence officer, as national security adviser.

At the Central Intelligence Agency, Mr Trump has nominated Mike Pompeo, a West Point graduate and retired army captain. And he is considering retired general David Petraeus for secretary of state and Admiral Michael Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, for director of national intelligence, the role that oversees the entire US intelligence community.