Trump names Carson as housing secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump today nominated Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who challenged him for the Republican nomination, to be secretary of housing and urban development.

"Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities," Trump said in a statement.

"We have talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities."

Carson is the first African-American nominated to Trump's team.

Carson had hinted late last month that he was in line for the job of helping turning around America's troubled inner cities.