Trump names former rival Carson housing secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday chose Ben Carson, the mild-mannered retired neurosurgeon who challenged him for the Republican nomination, to turn around troubled US inner cities as secretary of housing and urban development.

Carson, an African American who is a religious conservative, has no background in housing policy but has cited his poor childhood in Detroit as a qualification for the job.

He is the first black selected by Trump for his team.

“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.”

Carson said: “I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need.”

— AFP

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