San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is President Obama's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), replacing current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who is slated to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) next in a reshuffling of White House staff, Bloomberg News reports.
Donovan is set to replace OMB head Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who is set to replace Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services secretary. Burwell's Senate confirmation is pending.
Castro, 39, is in his third term as San Antonio's mayor. His twin brother, Joaquin Castro, serves in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from Texas.
Although the White House has been tight lipped about the appointments, Castro's selection to head up HUD comes as the White House is struggling with housing finance reform and measures that will free up more credit for minority or ‘underserved’ borrowers.
It also comes as Democrats are working to maintain their advantage among Hispanic voters in the upcoming November elections. Obama's job approval rating among Hispanics took a hit recently after he came under attack from immigration advocates about deportations.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is being hounded by immigration advocates who want to see the White House move forward with changes to immigration policy, including establishing a path to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants.
As per the Bloomberg News report, Castro's career in politics began when he was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001. At the time, he was the youngest council member in the city's history, surpassing Henry Cisneros, who later was elected mayor of San Antonio.
Interestingly, Cisneros also later became HUD secretary, serving under Democratic President Bill Clinton before resigning during a scandal involving payments to a mistress that weren't properly reported to the authorities.
For more, check out the Bloomberg News report.
