Monday, March 31, 2008
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson resigned Monday, amid multiple ethics investigations and criticism from top lawmakers.
Jackson said he will step down on April 18. He did not mention the allegations in his brief statement Monday, saying only that he wanted to attend to personal and family matters.
Speaking to reporters at HUD headquarters in Washington, Jackson said he had devoted his career to improving housing opportunities.
"As the son of a lead smelter and nurse midwife, and the last of 12 children, never did I imagine I would serve America in such a way," Jackson said about his Cabinet post. "I am truly grateful for the opportunity."
"We have helped families keep their homes, we have transformed public housing, we have reduced chronic homelessness, and we have preserved affordable housing and increased minority homeownership," he said.
A Jackson adviser told CNN earlier that the secretary has been privately talking about resigning since late last year because he's grown weary over multiple ethics investigations that have sparked allegations that he cannot focus full time on the nation's housing crisis.
Earlier this month, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, demanded Jackson's resignation, saying the ethics allegations have distracted from the secretary's ability to handle the nation's housing crisis. The secretary has recently been accused in a lawsuit of retaliating against housing officials in Philadelphia for blocking a land deal with one of Jackson's friends.
The FBI has been investigating allegations that Jackson steered a federal contract to a golfing buddy based in South Carolina. Jackson has denied wrongdoing and White House officials have said for months that the president still has confidence in Jackson. No charges have been filed against him.
Jackson has been a key player in the Bush administration's efforts to handle the national housing and mortgage crisis.
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