Ben Carson accepts Donald Trump’s offer to head US housing department and and Urban Development

Former Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 65 has accepted US President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Trump’s transition team said on Monday.

Carson, who is the vice chairman of Trump’s transition team has been a close adviser to Trump since he dropped out of the 2016 Republican presidential primary contest.

Carson had initially indicated his reluctance to take a position in the incoming administration due to his lack of experience in federal government.

Trump who also has no government experience and has never held public office, expressed confidence that Carson could do the job.

“Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump's transition team described Carson as “a distinguished national leader who overcame his troubled youth in the inner city of Detroit to become a renowned neurosurgeon.”

Carson, he said he was honoured to accept the post. 

“I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need,” he said in the statement.

Carson, will be the first African-American picked for a Cabinet position by Trump, who will assume office on January 20.