Dr. Ben Carson plans to leave President Donald Trump’s administration at the end of Trump’s first term in office. Carson was appointed secretary for Housing and Urban Development after his failed 2016 presidential bid.
Carson announced his decision to return to the private sector in an interview with Newsmax TV that aired on Monday.
“I will certainly finish out this term,” Carson told Newsmax host, chief political columnist John Gizzi. “I would be interested in returning to the private sector because I think you have just as much influence – maybe more – there.”
Gizzi asked Carson how often he spoke with the president in the past 3 years.
“It depends on what’s been going on, but basically anytime I need him, he’s very available,” said Carson.
Gizzi also asked Carson to comment on the House testimony given by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen last week.
“I think Cohen is trying to ingratiate himself to the people who hate Trump,” Carson said. “I’ve never seen anything that even remotely would remind me of racists, and believe me, I recognize a racist when I see them.”
Carson is currently the only Black member of Trump’s cabinet after Trump fired Omarosa Manigault Newman, left, in 2017.
The former brain surgeon was heavily criticized after it was reported he planned to decorate his office with a $31,000 dining set.
Photos by Mark Wilson/Getty Images, Pool/Getty Images
