US Senate confirms housing secretary

Washington: The US Senate has confirmed Ben Carson, an acclaimed neurosurgeon-turned-politician, as the secretary of housing and urban development, the media reported.

The Senate voted 58-41 on Thursday.

Unlike many other cabinet members chosen by President Donald Trump, Carson, who has no experience running a large federal bureaucracy, did not face much pushback from Democrats during his confirmation process, The New York Times reported.

The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs unanimously voted his nomination out of committee in January.

Carson will now head an agency with a $47 billion budget and a charge to assist millions of low-income renters, fight urban blight and help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosures.

Carson was awarded a scholarship to Yale University, and at 33, he was named director of paediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Centre.

He later became an author and a philanthropist supporting scholarships for young, often impoverished students, the daily said.

After his medical career, Carson turned to politics and competed with Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.