US President Barack Obama was to announce Friday his nomination of Julian Castro, the Hispanic mayor of San Antonio, Texas, as his new secretary of Housing and Urban Development, dpa cited the White House sources as saying on Friday. The announcement marks a definitive boost to the career of the young Democrat, 39, whom many see as a potential running-mate in the presidential campaign of former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for the 2016 presidential election. Beyond any speculation, the nomination will be a further gesture from Obama towards the influential Hispanic electorate. If ratified by the Senate, Castro would become the third Hispanic in Obama's Cabinet, after Labour Secretary Thomas Perez and the administrator of the Small Business Administration Maria Contreras-Sweet. Castro, like Contreras-Sweet, is of Mexican descent. Obama was expected to make the announcement later Friday at the White House. He is to replace Shaun Donovan, who takes over the Office of Management and Budget. If ratified, Julian Castro is set to be re-united in Washington with his twin brother, Joaquin, a representative for Texas. -- SPA 20:37 LOCAL TIME 17:37 GMT تغريد
