Senate confirms Carson, Perry for key posts
Former Trump rivals join Cabinet
WASHINGTON — Two of President Donald Trump’s former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination won Senate confirmation Thursday to join his administration.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was confirmed as secretary of housing and urban development on a vote of 58-41. A few hours later, the Senate backed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to be energy secretary, 62-37.
Both were sworn in Thursday. 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 thirdgrade education.
Perry, who once pledged to eliminate the Energy Department, has repeatedly promised to be an advocate for the agency and to protect the nation’s nuclear stockpile. Perry also pledged to rely on federal scientists, including those who work on climate change.
Perry, who served 14 years as Texas governor, has said he will seek to develop American energy in all forms, from oil, gas and nuclear power to renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
Democrats say they accept Perry’s disavowal of his 2011 pledge to abolish the department, but they fear he may not stand up to GOP proposals to slash the department’s budget.
New Mexico’s two Democratic senators were split on Perry’s confirmation.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, voted “no.” Before Perry’s confirmation hearing, Heinrich called him “utterly unqualified” for the energy post, which gives Perry authority over New Mexico’s nuclear laboratories.
Perry’s “past statements on eliminating the department, an unwillingness to commit to the applied energy research and climate science done at our national labs and universities, and the transition team questionnaire that attacked the integrity of climate scientists all signal where the Trump administration is headed,” Heinrich said Thursday.
Sen. Tom Udall, who voted for confirmation, said, “Gov. Perry committed to me that he will be a dedicated public servant and wants to be a strong leader for the department, the labs, and all the people who are impacted by DOE in New Mexico.”
Carson, 65, will lead an agency with about 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 Department of Housing and Urban Development.