Donald Trump Offers Ben Carson Role Of Housing & Urban Development Secretary: Report

President-elect Donald Trump has offered retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson the position of Housing & Urban Development secretary, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

According to the report, Carson, who also ran for the Republican presidential nomination and has no background in housing policy, will consider the post over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Trump had tweeted earlier that he was mulling over selecting Carson to lead the department, which oversees affordable housing, fair housing laws, funding for development projects, homelessness initiatives and other programs:

Carson was asked about Trump’s tweet during an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Tuesday.

“We’ve had offers,” he said. When asked if HUD was one of them, he said yes.

Carson, like Trump, has never held elected office. It’s unclear why Trump selected the doctor for this specific cabinet role, but when Cavuto asked why he would be a good fit, Carson cited growing up in Detroit.

“I grew up in the inner city and have spent a lot of time there, and have dealt with a lot of patients from that area and recognize that we cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities,” he said.

Carson had also been floated as a potential secretary of Health and Human Services or the Education Department. However, Carson adviser Armstrong Williams has said Carson had no plans to pursue a role in Trump’s cabinet due to his lack of qualifications.

“Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency,” Williams told The Hill last week. “The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency.”

Carson endorsed Trump just one week after ending his own presidential campaign.