Trump nominates retired general to lead Pentagon

US president-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has picked the tough-talking retired general James Mattis to be his defense secretary.

"We are going to appoint 'Mad Dog' Mattis as our secretary of defense," Trump told cheering supporters in Cincinnati, referring by nickname to the four-star Marine general who headed the US Central Command, with authority over troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the formal announcement would be made on Monday.

"He's our best. They say he's the closest thing to (World War II) general George Patton that we have," Trump said, apparently divulging his pick days ahead of schedule as his transition team had already said there would be no more cabinet announcements this week.