President Bill Clinton invited incoming Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro to dine at the Clinton’s private D.C. home last week, the Washington Post reported, making it impossible for the media to ignore the 2016 implications.
Castro, former San Antonio mayor and 2012 Democratic National Convention keynote speaker, was nominated by President Barack Obama to head HUD in May. The New York Times noted at the time that he “has often been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate for the Democrats.” The move to HUD was thought to help bolster Castro’s national profile.
The veep speculation is mostly a matter of connecting the dots. Castro is a young (39) and charismatic Hispanic politician, as is his twin brother Joaquin, a freshman Texas congressman.
Now Bill Clinton is inviting Castro over for dinner so they can get to know each other better and Hillary Clinton also spoke with a close Castro friend at a private lunch in March about Castro’s political aspirations, according to the Post.
Even anonymous sources close to situation are stoking the fire.
“The Clintons are keeping the Castros very close to them,” a confidante told the Post.
Official spokespeople, of course, dismissed the 2016 conjecture.
“Secretary Castro and former president Clinton had a discussion about ways the agency can expand on the partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative to make public housing more energy-efficient,” HUD spokeswoman Betsaida Alcantara told the Post.
“They didn’t talk about 2016,” a Clinton aide said.
