President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to run the U.S. housing, urban polic which may be an unconventional choice but it underscores Trump’s willingness to forgo traditional policy expertise in some Cabinet positions to surround himself with allies.
Carson confirmed that he has accepted the position in a statement to Fox News.
“After serious discussions with the Trump transition team, I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone,” he wrote. “We have much work to do in strengthening every aspect of our nation and ensuring that both our physical infrastructure and our spiritual infrastructure is solid. An announcement is forthcoming about my role in helping to make America great again.”
The Washington Post reports,
Carson, 65, who ran against Trump in the wide field of Republican presidential primary candidates, is the president-elect’s highest profile African American supporter and confidant. A conservative political celebrity, Carson has never held public office and as recently cast doubt on his suitability for a Cabinet role, saying he would be “like a fish out of water” as a federal bureaucrat.
“I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities,” Trump is quoted as saying in a statement released by his transition team.
A review of some of Carson’s political commentary on housing policy reveals his views to be at odds with some of the anti-segregation policies championed by minority groups, including the NAACP. On at least one occasion, he criticized efforts by the Obama administration to use its regulatory powers to improve racial integration in housing.
If confirmed by the Senate, Carson will be enlisted to serve as Trump’s unofficial envoy to African Americans and to lead the charge to reform what Trump has described as America’s blighted and dangerous inner cities, a dystopian, racially-charged image criticized as frequently at odds with the facts. He will also lead Trump’s efforts in an arena where Trump and members of his family have been accused of flouting the law in their own business.
Trump is also expected on Monday to formally name retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis as his secretary of defense. Trump share his intentions Thursday during a raucous “thank-you” rally in Cincinnati.
Carson’s lack of experience in the housing sphere raised concerns among advocates for vulnerable Americans.
President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development, an unconventional choice that underscores Trump’s willingness to forgo traditional policy expertise in some Cabinet positions to surround himself with allies.
Carson, 65, who ran against Trump in the wide field of Republican presidential primary candidates, is the president-elect’s highest profile African American supporter and confidant. A conservative political celebrity, Carson has never held public office and as recently cast doubt on his suitability for a Cabinet role, saying he would be “like a fish out of water” as a federal bureaucrat.
“I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities,” Trump is quoted as saying in a statement released by his transition team.
A review of some of Carson’s political commentary on housing policy reveals his views to be at odds with some of the anti-segregation policies championed by minority groups, including the NAACP. On at least one occasion, he criticized efforts by the Obama administration to use its regulatory powers to improve racial integration in housing.
If confirmed by the Senate, Carson will be enlisted to serve as Trump’s unofficial envoy to African Americans and to lead the charge to reform what Trump has described as America’s blighted and dangerous inner cities, a dystopian, racially-charged image criticized as frequently at odds with the facts. He will also lead Trump’s efforts in an arena where Trump and members of his family have been accused of flouting the law in their own business.
Trump is also expected on Monday to formally name retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis as his secretary of defense. Trump share his intentions Thursday during a raucous “thank-you” rally in Cincinnati.
Carson’s lack of experience in the housing sphere raised concerns among advocates for vulnerable Americans.
Read more at Washington Post
