Trump To Nominate Ben Carson To Lead Housing And Urban Development

Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort ... Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on Friday, March 4, 2016. Credit: Ron Sachs / CNP - NO WIRE SERVICE - Photo by: Ron Sachs/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images MORE LESS
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Donald Trump on Monday morning announced that he will nominate former Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to be the secretary of housing and urban development.

“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 said in a statement. “We have talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities. Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a Presidency representing all Americans. He is a tough competitor and never gives up.”

In a statement circulated by Trump’s transition team, Carson said, “I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need. We have much work to do in enhancing every aspect of our nation and ensuring that our nation’s housing needs are met.”

Carson had initially been floated as a potential education secretary, but a Carson spokesman said that Carson had turned down a role in the administration.

“Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency,” Armstrong Williams said in November. “The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency.”

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