Ben Carson hints at role in Trump’s cabinet

WASHINGTON— Ben Carson said Wednesday an announcement is imminent about his role in improving the nation’s inner cities — a broad hint that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will name him secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

“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 said on Facebook. “An announcement is forthcoming about my role in helping to make America great again.”

Carson, himself once a candidate for president, would be the first black person named to Trump’s cabinet.

He was a mild critic of Trump during the campaign, but after dropping out of the race, he backed Trump and now serves on the president-elect’s transition team.

Carson has spoken often of his experiences growing up in inner-city Detroit, with a mother who sometimes relied on food stamps and other assistance. Carson has said they moved into a “tenement” at one point but has never said whether he lived in public housing.

Days ago, a senior adviser said Carson thought he lacked the background needed to manage a federal agency, and that he didn’t think it was the best way for him to serve. Carson didn’t want to take a position that could “cripple the presidency,” adviser Armstrong Williams told the Hill newspaper.

Housing and Urban Development is responsible for low-income housing assistance, fair housing laws and aid to neighbourhoods in distress.

Carson indicated a change of heart Wednesday.“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,” he wrote.

Trump suggested Tuesday he isn’t applying the usual standard of qualifications to his cabinet picks. “We’re trying very hard to get the best people — not necessarily people that will be the most politically correct people, because that hasn’t been working,” Trump said.