Fighting Discrimination, Encouraging Inclusivity No Longer a Mission of Ben Carson's HUD

Housing and Urban Development Secretary/failed Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson recently made a change to the HUD mission statement. Prior to the change, the department's mission statement read, "HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to ... build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination, and transform the way HUD does business."

Now the mission statement reads, "HUD's mission is to ensure Americans have access to fair, affordable housing and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, thereby strengthening our communities and nation." The most obvious changes are the removal of the word "inclusive" and phrase "free from discrimination."

The mission statement was updated to better align with the secretary and administration's positions, HUD assistant secretary for public affairs Amy Thompson told department staffers in a memo, according to HuffPost.

"An organization's mission is never static," Thompson said in the memo. "A mission statement describes an organization's purpose, what it intends to do, and whom it intends to serve."

Carson has long targeted marginalized groups. The former brain surgeon is outspoken about his vehement opposition to same-sex marriage, going as far as to compare the unions to bestiality. Carson has also suggested transgender people have their own bathrooms, saying, "It's not fair for them to make everybody else uncomfortable."

Carson's yearlong tenure as HUD secretary has not been an easy one; he recently admitted that his job is harder than performing brain surgery. "There are more complexities here than in brain surgery. ... Doing this job is going to be a very intricate process."