Appearing at an event marking the 15th anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, which he led for six months before President Trump tapped him as chief of staff, Kelly began by telling the crowd, “I miss every one of you, every day.”

When the moderator and some in the crowd read more into that comment than perhaps he intended and began laughing, Kelly rolled his eyes briefly and gave a chuckle. Then he offered this: “The last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the great honors of my life — being the secretary of homeland security — but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess.”