HUD Secretary Ben Carson Returns to Baltimore to See Living Conditions Firsthand

On Wednesday, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson returned to Baltimore, Md., amid an ongoing spat between President Trump and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) who represents Maryland's 7th congressional district which includes just over half of the city. 

Cummings declined an invitation to join Carson for the visit.  He used to work as the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. 

Carson said sending those kids back to their neighborhoods after surgery where rats and roaches roamed was a dilemma.

He told Fox News the living conditions in East Baltimore were "infested with rats and roaches, tics, mold and lead and violence, and I didn't want to send them back ... but now, fortunately, God's given me the opportunity to do something about it."

"The federal government has invested a lot of money in Baltimore," he said. " And we'll continue to do so. But as you can see from looking around you know there are problems here in Baltimore. There are good things in Baltimore. There are bad things in Baltimore. Baltimore has been in the news a lot lately. And you know I have a special place in my heart for Baltimore and for the people of Baltimore."

The secretary also noted the city is facing several problems.

"There are a lot of excellent wonderful people here," Carson added.  "And there are a lot of good places here in Baltimore as well. But there are problems and we can't sweep them under the rug. You know it's sort of like if you have a patient who has cancer. And you can dress them up and put a nice suit on him and you can try to ignore it. But that cancer is going to have a devastating effect. You have to be willing to address that issue if you're ever going to solve it."

Carson added the president was willing to work with Cummings to help the Baltimore city government and residents.