The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to confirm retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

Carson, who ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and later endorsed Trump, becomes the only African-American in the Trump Cabinet. The Senate confirmed his appointment by a vote of 58 to 41.

During his confirmation hearing in January, Carson, 65, told the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs that he would monitor any potential conflicts of interest between his agency and properties controlled by Trump.

He also told lawmakers he was fit to lead HUD, an agency whose mission includes helping the poor get housing, even though he has sometimes criticized its work. </s> "I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development" President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement.

"Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities. 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."

Carson also ran for president in the GOP primary in 2016 and became an early and vocal supporter of Trump after dropping out in March.

Trump praised Carson as a "greatly talented person" in a tweet two weeks ago when he announced he was considering Carson for the HUD position.

"I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I've gotten to know him well--he's a greatly talented person who loves people!" Trump tweeted. I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I've gotten to know him well--he's a greatly talented person who loves people! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 Carson's name had been attached to multiple cabinet-level positions throughout the transition process, most significantly the position of Health and Human Services secretary. But according to Carson aide Armstrong Williams , the veteran neurosurgeon turned down an offer of that position due to lack of experience running a federal agency. "He's never run an agency and it's a lot to ask. He's a neophyte and that's not his strength," Williams said, despite the fact that Carson vied for the Republican nomination to be the next president of the United States. </s> (CNN) Dr. Ben Carson will be nominated as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Trump transition team announced Monday.

"I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development," President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement. "Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities."

During their primary fight, Trump had derided Carson as "super low energy" and delivered a number of sharp attacks on Twitter, questioning Carson's temperament and qualifications for office.

Wow, pres. candidate Ben Carson, who is very weak on illegal Immigration, just said he likes amnesty and a pathway to citizenship.

"With Ben Carson wanting to hit his mother on head with a hammer, stab a friend and Pyramids built for grain storage - don't people get it?" Trump tweeted in November of 2015, when he and Carson were still rivals.

Carson's unsuccessful primary campaign was punctuated by rookie blunders and odd claims, including that the Egyptian pyramids were used to store grain. "The pyramids were made in a way that they had hermetically sealed compartments," he said. "You wouldn't need hermetically sealed compartments for a sepulcher. You would need that if you were trying to preserve grain for a long period of time."

He is known for offering provocative commentary on a wide range of issues, including comparing the modern American government to Nazi Germany in a March 2014 interview with Breitbart, and saying at the Voter Values Summit in 2013 that Obamacare is "the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery."

Carson endorsed Trump shortly after he dropped out of the contest, becoming only the second former Republican candidate to do so after Gov. Chris Christie.

The secretary of housing and urban development oversees federal public housing programs and helps formulate policy on homelessness and housing discrimination. As is the case with all cabinet secretaries, Carson needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

Carson had signaled he would be named to the job Wednesday afternoon, posting on Facebook that an announcement about his forthcoming role in the administration.

"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," Carson 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."

Trump praised Carson as a "greatly talented person" in a tweet two weeks ago when he said he was considering Carson for the HUD position.

"I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I've gotten to know him well -- he's a greatly talented person who loves people!" Trump tweeted.

"He's never run an agency and it's a lot to ask. He's a neophyte and that's not his strength," Williams said.

"The violence. The death. The lack of education. No jobs. We're going to work with the African-American community and we're going to solve the problem of the inner city," Trump said at a rally in Toledo, Ohio, in October. "We're going to bring safety back. You can't walk out the street, you buy a loaf of bread and you end up getting shot. So we're going to work very strongly with the African American community."

Carson was one of the large field of Republican presidential candidates. He enjoyed an early surge in the polls after he announced his campaign in May 2015 and ran mostly on his biography rather than policy. He bowed out of the race after a disappointing finish on Super Tuesday.

Carson admits that he had a violent temper in his youth, and says one of the defining moments of his life occurred when he was 14. Carson said he tried to stab a schoolmate, but the boy's belt buckle blocked the knife. After praying for three hours, Carson "came to an understanding that to lash out at people is not a sign of strength, it was a sign of weakness." A CNN report raised questions about Carson's claims that he was violent and angry as a teenager.

When Carson -- a famed neurosurgeon -- became the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins at age 33, he became the youngest person to head a major division in the hospital's history. His parents separated when he was eight, after it was revealed his father was a bigamist. He and his brother were raised by their mother.

The job of HUD secretary became vital after the 2008 housing crisis. President Barack Obama's first pick for the job, Shaun Donovan, oversaw the nearly $14 billion that HUD received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, known as the stimulus.

Donovan left the job in 2014 and was replaced by Julian Castro, then mayor of San Antonio.

The housing secretary also oversees programs that administer mortgage insurance to prospective homeowners and give rental subsidies to lower-income families. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):

Donald Trump has chosen former Campaign 2016 rival Ben Carson to become secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Trump’s decision, announced early Monday by his transition office, comes as the real estate mogul continues a series of interviews, meetings with aides and other deliberations aimed at forming his administration.

In a statement, Trump says he’s “thrilled to nominate” Carson, saying he “has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities.”

Carson has been coy about joining the new administration, saying shortly after Trump’s election victory that he wasn’t certain he’d fit into a Cabinet-style role. The discussion at that time centered on speculation that Carson might be selected to head the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services.

Trump’s statement Monday says, “Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a presidency representing all Americans.” </s> WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, a Detroit native and retired neurosurgeon who challenged Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, won Senate confirmation Thursday to join Trump's Cabinet as housing secretary.

Six Democrats and one independent joined 51 Republicans in voting for Carson to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Carson is the 17th of 22 of Trump's Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominations to win Senate approval. The Senate also voted 62-37 to move ahead on the nomination of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to be energy secretary.

Carson has never held public office and has no housing policy experience. Republicans have praised the life story of a man who grew up in inner-city Detroit with a single mother who had a third-grade education.

When his nomination cleared the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in January, Democrats said Carson would not have been their choice, but they welcomed his promises to enforce fair housing and to address lead hazards in housing and other issues. He was approved unanimously in the committee.

Sarah Edelman, director of housing policy at the Center for American Progress, said her group would work to hold Carson accountable for the promises he made. Carson, she said, has "made disparaging statements about families experiencing poverty, LGBT people, and fair housing that raise questions about his ability to be a fair and effective leader."

Carson, 65, will lead an agency with some 8,300 employees and a budget of about $47 billion. The department provides billions of dollars in housing assistance to low-income people through vouchers and public housing. It also enforces fair housing laws and offers mortgage insurance to poorer Americans through the Federal Housing Administration, part of HUD.

Trump lauded his nominee last week, calling him a "totally brilliant neurosurgeon" who has saved many lives.

"We're going to do great things in our African-American communities," Trump said, appearing with Carson on a tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

"Ben is going to work with me very, very closely. And HUD has a meaning far beyond housing. If properly done, it's a meaning that's as big as anything there is, and Ben will be able to find that true meaning and the true meaning of HUD as its Secretary," Trump said.

Carson has not shared specific plans publicly for the department under his leadership.

At his confirmation hearing, he told lawmakers that he envisioned forging a more "holistic approach" to helping people and developing "the whole person." He didn't offer many details.

Under questioning from Democrats, Carson said HUD's rental assistance is "essential" to millions of Americans and that the department has a lot of good programs. But he added, "We don't want it to be way of life. ... We want it to be a Band-Aid and a springboard to move forward."

He also said he'd like to see more partnerships with the private sector and religious groups.

The soft-spoken Carson, the only black major-party candidate in the White House race, grew up poor. He went on to attend Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School before becoming the first African-American named as the head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

In 1987, Carson became famous for pioneering surgery to separate twins joined at the back of the head. In 2013, he entered the national political spotlight during the National Prayer Breakfast when he railed against the modern welfare state, with President Barack Obama sitting just feet away. </s> The U.S. House of Representatives confirmed that Ben Carson would be the first African-American member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Moreover, the retired neurosurgeon and ex-presidential candidate has been approved as the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by the United States Senate for the Trump administration.

Mr. Carson was effectively able to receive the consent of the Upper House by a relatively close margin. He received 58 votes in favor and 41 against after which he was unanimously approved of his new role in Trump’s government. It’s rather surprising to note that even though he came to be considered as one of the strongest rivals of Trump during the Republican race for the presidency until his candidacy suffered a hard setback after the caucus of Iowa, Ben Carson faced relatively less difficulty in obtaining his role as the new Housing Secretary despite his apparent lack of aptitude demonstrated in the Senate confirmation hearing. Since Trump has quite a knack for Twitter, he tweeted saying he “is thrilled to nominate Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.”

During the election campaign, Trump vehemently attacked Ben Carson, telling him that he was a person with “very low energy” and launching harsh criticism against dubious data of his autobiography. However, Carson became one of Trump’s strongest supporters as the campaign progressed and his presidential aspirations faded. While other presidential aspirants engaged in virulent attacks, Carson maintained a poised disposition which made him stand out from the crowded field. Both Carson and Trump, however, agreed on the policies of tax cuts and replacing former President Barack Obama’s heath care law, among other issues.

With no prior experience in housing and city planning, the retired doctor will be the first African-American in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. As the new head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Carson will be handling an annual budget of around $47 billion after having received bipartisan support from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. It didn’t stop there. Ben Carson even managed to gain approval from Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brow of Ohio, both Democrats and among the most liberal members present in the panel. However, Senator Warren switched her stance and voted against Mr. Carson on Thursday after she encountered some pressure from certain segments of liberal activists who criticized her Facebook post aimed at defending her support for Carson.

An interesting sequence of events followed in the Senate confirmation hearing. While Mr. Carson regurgitated his arguments based on his earlier speech in a manner that seemed off-the-cuff, Senator Warren was prepared to knock him off-guard with an arduous question posed halfway through the hearing.

“Will you make sure not one dollar of HUD’s budget financially benefits the Trump family?” This is where things got out of hand for Dr. Carson. Senator Elizabeth Warren simply asked for Dr. Carson’s assurance that the HUD budget will not financially benefit either President Donald Trump or his family given that housing development is an area in which President Trump and his family have significant business interests. Dr. Carson failed to objectively respond to Senator Warren’s valid query. The reason for Dr. Carson’s inability to provide a guarantee or an assurance lies in the fact, which Senator Elizabeth Warren also candidly pointed out, that President Trump has kept his business interests from everybody and has failed to put his assets in a true blind trust. Critics contend this presents the core conundrum in which the Trump administration operates and inexorably attempts to blur the new President’s conflicts of interest. </s> Ben Carson has been confirmed by the Senate to act as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in a 58-41 vote. The retired pediatric neurosurgeon entered politics as a hopeful for the Republican presidential nomination before being nominated for the position by President Donald Trump.

As the New York Times reports, Democrats in the Senate were not as critical of Carson as they were of Trump’s other cabinet nominees. Among the Democratic senators who voted for Carson were Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Mark Warner of Virginia, according to Politico. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had voted for Carson in the Banking Committee but voted no in the final confirmation due to pressure from the left. Brown defended his vote for Carson, saying, “He made the commitment under oath to our committee that he would fight discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation.”

As leader of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Carson will oversee a budget of $47 billion, a department of around 8,000 employees and programs that provide low-income housing and government assistance. This is the first government position for Carson, who was previously the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Growing up in Detroit, a young Ben Carson was raised by a single mother who relied at times on food stamps to get by. Carson, however, has joined other Republicans in being critical of too much government assistance. Carson is the only African-American member of Trump’s cabinet.

During Carson’s Senate hearings, Warren and Brown questioned him heavily about the potentiality of Department of Housing and Urban Development dollars and decisions being used to benefit Trump’s various real estate business. “Can you just assure us that not one dollar will go to benefit either the president-elect or his family?” Warren asked.

In response, Carson said his actions would be “driven by a sense of morals and values.” As Politico reports, among Trump’s business interests is Brooklyn’s Starrett City, a public housing project.

Before Carson was nominated for the position, Armstrong Williams, a Ben Carson aide, told The Hill that the retired neurosurgeon and presidential hopeful felt he lacked the experience to be a member of Trump’s cabinet.

Upon announcing his choice to nominate Carson to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Trump said, “We have talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities.” NPR reports that Carson’s name was previously floated around to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trump and Carson engaged in multiple debates while both sought the Republican nomination. However, Carson endorsed Trump shortly after dropping out of the race. Both have frequently spoken about the need to address the country’s inner cities, with Carson saying his experience growing up in Detroit will influence his role as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Some experts on urban policy have questioned Carson’s ability to lead such a complex department, including Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. Morial told the Washington Post, “Those concerns stem from his own statements. He said, basically, that he’s not qualified for HUD or for government service. So most people I hear ask, ‘How did they convince him to take the job?'”

Now confirmed as secretary, Ben Carson will go on what the Washington Post calls a “listening tour” across the country. </s> (CNN) The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Ben Carson and Rick Perry to Cabinet position in President Donald Trump's administration.

The chamber confirmed retired neurosurgeon as the next secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and then later in the afternoon approved the former Texas governor as the next energy secretary.

The vote for Carson was 58-41. The vote for Perry was 62-37.

Both Carson and Perry ran against President Donald Trump during a crowded Republican presidential primary, before dropping out and both eventually endorsing Trump.

Read More </s> Senators quickly confirmed Dr. Ben Carson 58-41 Thursday as President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Housing and Urban Development Department, as Senate Democrats tire of delaying the president’s nominees and move on to other skirmishes.

Six Democrats joined 51 Republicans and Maine’s Independent Sen. Angus King to approve the nomination. Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson did not vote.

“I see each individual as human capital that can be developed to become part of the engine that drives our nation–or it not developed becomes part of the load,” said Carson to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee at the pediatric neurosurgeon’s Jan. 12 confirmation hearing. “We are the ones, who are tasked with helping to make a difference, so I do believe that government is extraordinarily important.”

Carson pledged to the committee that if confirmed, he would embark on a department-wide listening tour.

“Instead of just listening to the sage people of Washington, D.C.,” he said. “I want to hear from the people with boots on the ground, who are administering programs, who are benefiting from programs. I want to see what actually works and what doesn’t work.”

When the president announced his Dec. 5 selection of Carson to lead HUD, he said, “Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities.”

Trump said he and Carson agree on ways to spark urban renewal and to ensure that cities participate in the economic revival. “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.”

Carson was introduced to the committee by Sen. Marco Rubio (R.-Fla.). Rubio represents Carson’s home state, and the two men became close when they both running for the 2016 Republican nomination for president.

“As Secretary of HUD, Dr. Carson will encounter a department that is broken in many regards. It is a vast bureaucracy that reaches all corners of our country,” Rubio said to the committee when he introduced Carson.

Carson understands the challenge of redirecting HUD personnel and programs towards helping Americans thrive, he said.

“His most important work doesn’t take place here,” the senator said. “It takes place in the communities, where they have housing facilities and provide assistance to people.”

The senior Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown spoke in favor of Carson on the Senate floor Wednesday.

“His remarkable life story is well-known to millions of Americans and that it good,” Brown said. “But, he’s not the nominee I would have chosen to lead HUD. In, fact, he’s not the nominee that any president in my lifetime would have chosen to lead HUD.”

Carson’s life was turned into a 2009 movie “Gifted Hands” with Cuba Gooding Jr., playing the surgeon. His most famous single accomplishment was the 1998 surgery when he successfully separated 11-month-old twin boys joined at the head. The operation lasted more than 20 hours, and Carson led a team of more than 20 doctors and nurses to complete the task.

Brown, who holds one of the 23 Senate seats Democrats are defending in 2018, tried to walk the line. Carson’s climb from poverty in Detroit and Boston to become the world’s leading pediatric neurosurgeon and a department head of Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Medical School should be a story celebrated by Democrats. But, instead of being the poster child for left-wing policies, the African-American holder of more than 60 honorary degrees was a relentless critic of President Barack Obama, and he makes the case that his rise was despite Democratic policies–not as a result of Democratic policies.

The Ohio senator said Carson’s statements about these policies disturbed him, but Democrats were not ready to block Carson beyond forcing the Senate to exhaust the maximum 30 hours of debate called for in the Senate rules.

“My colleagues and I asked Dr. Carson direct questions about his views now that he’s the nominee for Secretary of HUD,” Brown said. “I’ll give Dr. Carson the benefit of the doubt. That’s why I am voting for him, because he made commitments to me in person, sitting in my office across the table.”

Unlike other confirmation votes, the Carson fight was no fight at all. The chamber was virtually empty as senators walked in to vote, then turned to leave the floor.

An example of the lack of passion was how two Democrats – Virginia’s Sen. Mark Warner and Washington’s Sen. Patty Murray – stood and chatted in the well of the chamber. Murray put her thumb down for “No”; Warner put his thumb up for “Yes,” but it had no effect on their conversation before they, too left the Senate floor.

Shortly after the Senate confirmed Carson, senators voted to start the 30-hour debate clock for former Texas Governor Rick Perry’s confirmation as Energy Department Secretary.

The vote on Perry is expected Friday at 1 p.m.
President-elect Donald Trump nominates Ben Carson for United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.