As people in Texas, Florida, and other states affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma start to rebuild, many will have to rely on assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and that's slightly worrisome, Seth Meyers said, considering who's at the helm.
Before entering politics, HUD Secretary Ben Carson was a gifted and respected neurosurgeon, but that doesn't make a person qualified to run a major government agency, Meyers said on Tuesday's Late Night. Carson has made statements that run counter to the organization's core mission, said people shouldn't feel too comfortable in public housing (announcing this after getting stuck inside an elevator at a Miami housing complex), and has yet to fill several positions at HUD. To really make his point, Meyers showed clips from a semi-bonkers speech Carson made at HUD in March, where he discussed how as a kid he loved going to the doctor to "smell the alcohol swabs," and marveled at his ability to make a hole in the side of a person's head to put depth electrodes into their hippocampus. "What does that have to do with Housing and Urban Development?" Meyers asked. "How many alcohol swabs did you smell?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Is the US in recession?Today's Big Question ‘Unofficial signals’ are flashing red
-
Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid, study findsSpeed Read The dinosaurs would not have gone extinct if not for the asteroid
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversalSpeed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodgeSpeed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floodsSpeed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star programspeed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
