Trump fills major US posts

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday picked a fossil fuel industry defender as his top environmental official, another retired general as homeland security chief and Iowa's governor as US ambassador to China in choices at odds with some of his recent pronouncements.

Trump, continuing to build his Cabinet as he prepares to take office on Jan 20, said Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, 48, would be nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt sued the EPA in a bid to undo a key regulation under outgoing President Barack Obama that would curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change, mainly from coal-fired power plants.

Trump tapped retired Marine Corps General John Kelly, 66, for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, whose responsibilities include immigration. Kelly, the third retired general named by Trump to a senior administration post, last year told Congress that a lack of security on the US-Mexican border posed a threat to the United States. He was also a proponent of keeping open the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Trump's transition team said Republican Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, 70, who has boasted of close ties to Beijing's leaders, was picked as US ambassador to China. His choice came after Trump rattled the world's second-largest economy with tough talk on trade and a telephone call with the leader of Taiwan.

In addition, transition officials said Linda McMahon, 68, former CEO of professional wrestling company WWE and wife of wrestling kingpin Vince McMahon, was Trump's choice to head the Small Business Administration. Trump has taken part in WWE events in the past and has close ties to the McMahons. He is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.

All four posts require Senate confirmation.

Meanwhile, Trump said he had consulted with outgoing US president Barack Obama on his picks. Trump told NBC that he had "really good chemistry" with Obama, and even had discussed some of his possible appointments with the outgoing Democratic president.

Pruitt's selection came despite a softer tone Trump has struck on environmental regulation since his Nov 8 election. He has stepped back from casting climate change as a hoax, signaled he might be willing to allow the United States to continue participating in the Paris climate change deal aimed at lowering world carbon emissions, and met with former Vice President Al Gore, a leading environmental voice.

Kelly would work in tandem with Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for attorney general, who is a leading advocate of cracking down on illegal immigration.

The former four-star general would head a department in charge of securing borders against illegal immigration, protecting the president, responding to natural disasters and coordinating intelligence and counterterrorism.

Trump previously picked retired Marine Corps General James Mattis as defense secretary and retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as national security adviser.

Trump has more key appointments to make in coming days, including the high-profile job of secretary of state. His team said former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a fierce Trump critic during the campaign, is still under consideration for a diplomatic job.