WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump said in a tweet Tuesday that he is considering Dr. Ben Carson — one of his opponents in the Republican primary — to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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
The tweet from Trump is the latest evidence of his unorthodox campaign and prolific use of social media to advance his agenda. It's unclear exactly why Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, would be a good fit for HUD. Earlier he had been rumored as a possible candidate to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
But Carson appeared to take himself out of the running for that job — or any cabinet post — when he reportedly indicated to the transition team that he didn't feel up to the task of running a government agency.
Carson later quarreled with that idea, posting on Facebook that his decision not to seek a cabinet position had "nothing to do with the complexity of the job."
He told Fox News on Sunday that his preference is to be an outside adviser to Trump but that he might consider a cabinet post if offered one.
"If after going through the process, they all conclude it would be much better to have me in the cabinet, I would have to give that very serious consideration," he said.
Carson's business manager, Armstrong Williams, told The Hill last week that while Carson was "never offered a specific position … everything was open to him."
However, he added that Carson "feels that he has no government experience."
