Obama Picks San Antonio Mayor for Cabinet Post on Housing

President Barack Obama will nominate San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on Friday, a White House official confirmed, elevating a rising star in the Democratic Party to a Cabinet post.

Castro scored a high-profile keynote spot at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and has been floated as a potential vice-presidential pick in 2016, or a candidate for statewide or national office in his own right in a few years. He is the brother of Rep. Joaquin Castro. Obama will make the announcement late Friday afternoon at the White House, the White House official said. Castro’s coming nomination was first reported by the New York Times last weekend.

In a Cabinet-level game of musical chairs, Castro will take the place of current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, whom Obama is selecting to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget. Donovan is replacing outgoing director Sylvia Mathews Burwell whose nomination to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services is making its way through the Senate. She replaces former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who announced her intention to resign last month after the completion of the initial enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act.