Statecraft

Donald Trump Close to Picking Ben Carson as Housing Secretary

Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who ran an outsider’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and later backed Donald J. Trump, is likely to be chosen as secretary of housing and urban development, according to a person close to the Trump transition, suggesting that the president-elect is seeking diversity in an administration that has started off predominantly white and male.

Mr. Carson would be the first African-American member of Mr. Trump’s cabinet — and a familiar face to millions of Americans after a Republican primary campaign in which he briefly soared to the top of the polls.

Mr. Trump has begun meeting with a wider array of prospects, either for advice or as potential cabinet picks. He is also considering Harold Ford Jr., an African-American former Democratic representative from Tennessee, for transportation secretary or another post, though that process has not yet become serious, a Trump official said.