Who is the New HUD Director?

Julian Castro has been confirmed as the new director of Housing and Urban Development.

The U.S. Senate approved the nomination on a vote of 71 to 26, on July 9th. Republicans cast all the votes against the nomination.

The incoming HUD director was the mayor of San Antonio at the time he was nominated for the federal post. He had served in that post for three terms.

A new city executive will need to be found for the city of nearly 1.4 million people.

Castro said, “My intention is to resign after the new mayor has been selected, and within the next couple of weeks we will likely have that specially-called meeting to select the new mayor.”

The 39-year-old will become the new HUD director after his swearing-in ceremony, that will likely occur later this month.

Castro is a native of San Antonio, and his identical twin, Jaquin Castro, is a U.S. Representative from Texas. Julian earnd a degree in political science and communications. He is also a long-time supporter of affirmative action.

There are currently 45 Republicans in the U.S. Senate. More than half opposed the nomination, but there were no speeches against Castro. This is widely considered to be a safe, middle-of-the-road choice for President Obama.

There was some opposition from those who did not want a mayor named to the White House, but few policy stances were at issue.

Being named to the White House will place Castro near the nation’s largest political donors. This could affect the 2016 presidential race, as some observers see Castro as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton.

http://blog.chron.com/kuffsworld/2014/07/castro-confirmed-at-hud

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/07/10/Cruz-Votes-Against-Castro-

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http://tpr.org/post/san-antonio-mayor-julian-castro-it-me-bittersweet

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-did-the-senate-gop-oppose-julian-

http://www.executivegov.com/2014/07/san-antonio-mayor-julian-castro-confirmed-as-

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