The White House on Friday vociferously defended President Trump’s chief of staff after he mischaracterized remarks made by a Democratic congresswoman who criticized Trump’s condolence call to a widow of a fallen U.S. solider. 

Facing persistent questions from reporters, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded that John Kelly’s four-decade career in the Marine Corps makes him beyond reproach. 

“If you want to go after Gen. Kelly, that’s up to you, but I think if you want to get into a debate with a four-star Marine general, I think that’s something highly inappropriate,” Sanders said.  

Kelly criticized Rep. Frederica Wilson(D-Fla.) on Thursday as an “empty barrel,” accusing her of using a 2015 speech at an FBI building dedication to talk about “how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building.”