Democrats press U.S. housing nominee Carson on potential Trump conflicts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday pressed Ben Carson, Donald Trump's nominee to lead housing policy, on potential conflicts of interest between the agency he is set to run and properties in which the president-elect may hold a financial stake.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hands out billions of dollars each year to developers and landlords. Democrats grilling Carson during his confirmation hearing for the post expressed concerns that some of that taxpayer money could end up directed to Trump or members of his family.

"The president-elect is hiding his family businesses interests from you, from me, and the rest of America," Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, one of Trump's most vocal critics, told Carson. "He can divert taxpayer money into his own pockets without the American people knowing about it."