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Donald Trump announced Monday that he has chosen retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Trump had teased the appointment in late November on Twitter, writing, "I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I've gotten to know him well — he's a greatly talented person who loves people!" Carson, though, had expressed through a surrogate that he felt he did not have enough government experience to run a federal agency and "the last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency." But "Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a presidency representing all Americans," Trump said Monday.