See also:
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[2017-10-23]: Christian Right tips to fight transgender rights: Separate the T from the LGB
Hands Across the Aisle sent a letter to Ben Carson, Director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, speaking out against the inclusion of trans women at single-sex women's shelters:
Revealingly, the letter's co-signers (which include Meg Kilgannon) also include Michelle Cretella, the current President of the American College of Pediatricians, an anti-LGBT hate group that pumps out junk science on LGBT people, including attempts to link homosexuality to pedophilia or claims that LGBT people are a danger to children.
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In early 2020 Ken Cuccinelli and Ben Carson, both tied to the Trump administration, are noted to have supported the Convention of States group. Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, has also previously supported the Convention of States movement.
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[2020-04-22] The anti-quarantine protests seem spontaneous. But behind the scenes, a powerful network is helping
The Convention of States project boasts past support from two members of the Trump administration -- Ken Cuccinelli, Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
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[2020-05-21] Is Bill Barr the Most Dangerous Member of the Trump Administration?
I also think, you know, when we're talking about how effective Attorney General William Barr is, it's really important to look at his media appearances and the way he is able to kind of glide through certain questioning. He just seems very unruffled. Like, he's got this, he has an answer for everything. You have to know quite a lot to understand what the problem is, if any, in what he's saying. If you're just sort of looking for someone who can sound like they're making sense and upholding the norms of the Justice Department, he kind of passes that test in a way that some of the other Trump officials are just not as dexterous.
Mehdi Hasan: No, you're undoubtedly correct that he [Barr] doesn't come across like a madman or a kind of complete incompetent. You know, you don't watch an interview with him and laugh your head off like you would if you watched, you know, a Ben Carson or whatever [laughs], or one of the many other ... interesting appointees that Trump has brought into the cabinet.
Ben Carson.
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Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician, public servant, author, and retired neurosurgeon who has served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development since 2017. Carson was a candidate for President of the United States in the Republican primaries in 2016, at times leading nationwide polls of Republicans. Carson is considered a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery.
Carson became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in 1984 at age 33; he was the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the United States. Carson was also a professor of Neurosurgery, Oncology, Plastic Surgery, and Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Carson's achievements include performing the only successful separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head; performing the first successful neurosurgical procedure on a fetus inside the womb; performing the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins; developing new methods to treat brain-stem tumors; and revitalizing hemispherectomy techniques for controlling seizures. Carson wrote over 100 neurosurgical publications. Carson retired from medicine in 2013.
Carson has received numerous honors for his neurosurgery work, including more than 60 honorary doctorate degrees and numerous national merit citations. In 2001, he was named by CNN and TIME magazine as one of the nation's 20 foremost physicians and scientists, and was selected by the Library of Congress as one of 89 "Living Legends" on its 200th anniversary. In 2008, Carson was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2010, he was elected into the National Academy of Medicine. Carson was the subject of the 2009 TV film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, where he was portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr.
Carson was the featured speaker at the 1997 National Prayer Breakfast. Carson gave a widely publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast that catapulted him to conservative fame for his views on social and political issues.
Early life and education
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Further activities during 2016 election
On March 11, 2016, a week after Carson ended his presidential campaign, Carson endorsed Trump, calling him part of "the voice of the people to be heard." Carson's subsequent comments that Americans would have to sustain Trump for only four years if he was not a good president drew criticism and he admitted that he would have preferred another candidate, though thought Trump had the best chance of winning the general election. On the other hand, at the press conference Carson said Trump had a "cerebral" side.
On April 16 2016, Carson spoke favorably of the possibility of abolishing the Electoral College, believing it disregards "the will of the people." Later that month, on April 25 2016, Carson expressed opposition to Harriet Tubman replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, the day after dubbing the replacement "political expediency," though he indicated interest in Tubman having another tribute. In late April 2016, Carson wrote to the Nevada Republican Party, requesting the two delegates he won in Nevada be released and free to support whoever they want.
On May 4 2016, after Trump wrapped up the Republican nomination, he hinted that Carson would be among those who would vet his vice-presidential pick. The same day, Carson in an interview expressed interest in Ted Cruz serving as Attorney General of the United States, a position that Carson said would allow Cruz to prosecute Hillary Clinton, and then as a Supreme Court Justice nominee from the Trump administration. On May 6 2016, Carson said in interview that Trump would consider a Democrat as his running mate, conflicting with Trump's asserting that he would not. A Carson spokesperson later said Carson expected Trump to select a Republican. Carson was said by aide Armstrong Williams in a May 10 2016 interview to have withdrawn from the Trump campaign's vetting team, though the campaign confirmed he was still involved. Later that month, Carson revealed a list of potential vice-presidential candidates in an interview with The Washington Post. On May 16 2016, Carson said the media could not keep opinion out of reporting and cited Walter Cronkite as a fair journalist who was in his words a "left-wing radical."
During the Republican National Convention, Carson appeared with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in support of the pro-Donald Trump Great America PAC at an event in Cleveland.
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Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Nomination and confirmation
After Donald Trump's win in the 2016 election, Carson joined Trump's transition team as Vice Chairman. Carson was also offered a cabinet position in the administration. Carson declined, in part because of his lack of experience, with an aide stating, "The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency." Although it was reported that the position was for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Carson's business manager has disputed this, stating, "Dr. Carson was never offered a specific position, but everything was open to him." Carson was eventually offered the position of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, which he accepted.
On December 5, 2016, Trump announced that he would nominate Carson to the position of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. During the confirmation process, Carson was scrutinized by some housing advocates for what they perceived as his lack of relevant experience.
On January 24, 2017, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voted unanimously to approve the nomination. On March 2, 2017, Carson was confirmed by the Senate by a 58-41 vote.
Tenure
On March 6 2017, his first day as secretary, while addressing Housing and Urban Development (HUD) employees, Carson saluted the work ethic of immigrants, and during his comments likened slaves to involuntary immigrants. A HUD spokesman said that no one present thought Carson "was equating voluntary immigration with involuntary servitude." In the same speech, Carson inaccurately said that the human brain "was incapable of forgetting and could be electrically stimulated into perfect recall."
Under the federal budget proposed by Trump in 2017, HUD's budget for fiscal year 2018 would be cut by $6.2 billion (13%) and the Community Development Block Grant, a program which Carson praised in a trip to Detroit as HUD secretary, would be eliminated. Carson issued a statement supporting the proposed cuts. Carson suggested that federal funds for housing in Detroit could be part of an expected infrastructure bill.
On April 2017, while speaking in Washington at the National Low Income Housing Coalition conference, Carson said that housing funding would be included in an upcoming infrastructure bill from the Trump administration.
In July 2017, during his keynote address at the LeadingAge Florida annual convention, Carson stated his concern about "seniors who become destitute" and reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development had increased public housing programs for the elderly by an unspecified number.
In summer 2017, Carson allowed his son, Baltimore businessman Ben Carson Jr., to participate in organizing a HUD "listening tour" in Baltimore. Internal documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act showed that the younger Carson "put people he'd invited in touch with his father's deputies, joined agency staff on official conference calls about the listening tour and copied his wife on related email exchanges." The son's involvement prompted HUD staff to express concern; the department's deputy general counsel for operations wrote in a memorandum "that this gave the appearance that the Secretary may be using his position for his son's private gain." Carson's wife, son, and daughter-in-law also attended official meetings. In February 2018, the HUD inspector general's office confirmed that it was looking into the role Carson's family played at the department.
During congressional testimony in May 2019, Carson did not know what the term REO ("Real Estate Owned" refers to housing owned by a bank or lending institution post-foreclosure) stood for and confused it with the cookie, Oreo. In response, Carson went on the Fox Business Network where he accused Democrats of adhering to "Saul Alinsky" tactics.
On March 1, 2020, the office of Vice President Mike Pence announced Carson's addition to White House Coronavirus Task Force.