President Obama is expected to announce Friday that Julian Castro will replace Shaun Donovan as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Donovan will become budget director.
President Barack Obama will nominate San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to become housing secretary and will tap Shaun Donovan, his current housing chief, to run the budget office, a White House official said Thursday.
Obama was expected to announce his latest Cabinet shuffle at the White House on Friday after returning from an overnight trip to Chicago. He was to be joined by Castro, a 39-year-old Democratic up-and-comer, and Donovan, 48, who has led the Department of Housing and Urban Development since the start of Obama's presidency in 2009. The White House official who disclosed the appointments would only speak on condition of anonymity ahead of a pending personnel announcement.
The moves would raise the profiles of two men with close ties to Obama.
Obama chose Castro to deliver the keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and his star has been on the rise ever since. Donovan is highly regarded inside the White House, where officials have lauded his work overseeing the federal government's response to the devastation Hurricane Sandy unleashed on the East Coast in October 2012.
As budget director, Donovan would have significant sway over the administration's policy and spending priorities.
If he is confirmed by the Senate, the three-term mayor would become one of the highest-ranking Hispanic officials serving at the pleasure of the president. Castro has been talked about as a possible Democratic candidate for vice president in 2016. Donovan, already confirmed for the HUD job, would be expected to win confirmation a second time for the new post.
And they say we have no bench.
