Donald Trump to nominate former rival Ben Carson as Secretary of State for Housing

Donald Trump's presidential transition team have confirmed that the President-elect with nominate retired surgeon and Republican primaries candidate, Ben Carson to the post of Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Development.

The team described Carson as a "distinguished national leader who overcame his troubled youth in the inner city of Detroit to become a renowned neurosurgeon". Trump said he was "thrilled" to nominate the former rival, saying they had "talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities."

In the statement, Carson said he was "honoured" by the opportunity, adding "I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need."

The 65-year-old Carson left the race for the Republican presidential nomination after initial highs, at one point topping opinion polls. "I did the math. I looked at the delegate counts... and I realised it simply wasn't going to happen," he said as he dropped out in March.

After initial speculation that Carson would be offered the job, rumours subsided when a close friend told The Hill that no solid offer had come from Trump and that Carson would decline anyway as he felt he "has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency."

So far Trump's cabinet looks set to include Elaine Chao as Transport Secretary, Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary and Tom Price as Health Secretary, amongst others.