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ByJenniferC.Kerrand Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON Two of President Donald Trump's former rivals for the GOP White House nomination won Senate confirmation Thursday to join his adminis- tration. Retired neurosur- geon Ben C a r s o n was con- firmed as secretary of the De- partment of Hous- ing and Urban De- velopment on a vote of 58-41. A few hours later, the Senate backed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to be energy secretary, 62-37. Carson and Perry are the 17th and 18th of Trump's 22 Cabinet and Cabinet- level nominations to win Senate approval. Carson has never held public office and has no housing policy experience. Republicans have praised the life story of a man who grew up in inner-city De- troit with a single mother who had a third-grade ed- ucation. Perry, who once pledged to eliminate the depart- ment,has repeatedlyprom- ised to be an advocate for the agency and to protect the nation's nuclear stock- pile. Perry also pledged to rely on federal scientists, including those who work on climate change. Perry, who served 14 years as Texas governor, has said he will seek to develop American energy in all forms, from oil, gas and nuclear power to re- newable sources such as wind and solar power. Democrats say they ac- cept Perry's disavowal of his 2011 pledge to abolish the department, but they worry he may not stand up to GOP proposals to slash the department's budget. Carson, 65, will lead an agency with some 8,300 employees and a budget of about $47 billion. The department provides bil- lions of dollars in housing assistance to low-income people through vouchers and public housing. It also enforces fair housing laws and offers mortgage insur- ance to poorer Americans through the Federal Hous- ing Administration, part of HUD. Trump lauded Carson last week, calling him a "totally brilliant neuro- surgeon" who has saved many lives. "Ben is going to work with me very, very closely. And HUD has a mean- ing far beyond housing. If properly done, it's a mean- ing that's as big as any- thing there is, and Ben will be able to find that true meaning and the true meaning of HUD as its Secretary," Trump said. At his confirmation hearing, Carson told law- makers that he envisioned forging a more "holistic ap- proach" to helping people and developing "the whole person." He didn't offer many details. Perry, 66, told a Sen- ate committee that he re- grets his infamous state- ment about abolishing the department and insisted it performs critical func- tions, particularly in pro- tecting and modernizing the nation's nuclear stock- pile. During Perry's tenure as governor, Texas main- tained its traditional role as a top driller for oil and natural gas, while also emerging as the leading producer of wind power in the United States and a top provider of solar power. WASHINGTON SenateconfirmsCarson, Perry for Cabinet posts Perry Carson By Eric Tucker The Associated Press WASHINGTON Under in- tensifying pressure, Attor- ney General Jeff Sessions abruptly agreed Thursday to recuse himself from any investigation into Russian meddling in America's 2016 presidential election. He acted after revelations he twice spoke with the Rus- sian ambassador during the campaign and failed to say so when pressed by Con- gress. Sessions rejected any suggestion that he had tried to mislead anyone about his contacts with the Russian, saying, "That is not my in- tent. That is not correct." But he did allow that he should have been more careful in his testimony during his confirmation hearing, saying, "I should have slowed down and said, 'But I did meet one Russian official a couple of times.'" The White House has stood by Sessions in the lat- est controversy to dog Presi- dent Donald Trump's young administration, though of- ficials say they first learned about his contacts with the ambassador from a reporter Wednesday night. Trump himself said Thursday he had "total" confidence in Sessions and didn't think he needed to recuse himself — not long before he did. One of Sessions' conver- sations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak occurred at a July event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. At that same event, the am- bassador also spoke with Carter Page, who briefly ad- vised Trump's campaign on foreign policy, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. Separately, a White House official said Thurs- day that Trump's son-in- law, Jared Kushner, and ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in New York in De- cember. The official de- scribed that sit-down as a brief courtesy meeting. Flynn was fired last month for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Kislyak. The Trump team's ac- count of Flynn's contacts with the ambassador has changed several times. The White House did not dis- close the in-person meet- ing, or Kushner's involve- ment, until Thursday. Both the White House of- ficial and the person with knowledge of Page's discus- sion insisted on anonymity because they were not au- thorized to publicly disclose the meetings. Trump has been trailed for months by questions about potential ties to Rus- sia, and allegations of Rus- sian efforts to interfere in the U.S. election to help him defeat Hillary Clinton. The new president and his cam- paign officials have blamed such contentions on Demo- cratic sore losers and have heatedly denied any contact with Russians concerning the election. While there is noth- ing necessarily nefarious or even unusual about a member of Congress meet- ing with a foreign ambas- sador, typically members of the Senate Foreign Re- lations Committee meet with foreign ambassadors, not Armed Services Com- mittee lawmakers, such as Sessions, whose responsibil- ity is oversight of the mili- tary and the Pentagon. The latest development comes on the heels of what had been the high point of Trump's young presidency: a well-received address to Congress Tuesday night that energized Republicans and appeared to wipe away some lawmakers' concerns about the administration's tumultuous start. But Sessions faced a ris- ing chorus of demands that he resolve the seeming con- tradiction between his two conversations in the sum- mer and fall with Kislyak and his sworn statements to Congress in January, when he said he had not had com- munications with Russians during the campaign. The Justice Department said he met with Kislyak in his role as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, not in his role as a Trump adviser with the campaign, and that led to his answers. The attorney general, an early backer and key ad- viser for Trump's campaign, said he decided to recuse himself for investigations that are underway and oth- ers to come after his staff recommended he do so. Act- ing Deputy Attorney Gen- eral Dana Boente will han- dle such matters for now. Sessions added that his announcement "should not be interpreted as confirma- tion of the existence of any investigation." The Justice Department acknowledged two sepa- rate Sessions interactions with Kislyak, both coming after cybersecurity firms had concluded that Rus- sian intelligence agencies were behind cyber-hacking of the Democratic National Committee. The first occurred after a Heritage Foundation event during the Republican Na- tional Convention in July, when the department says a group of envoys — includ- ing the Russian ambassa- dor — approached Sessions. The second was a Septem- ber conversation, which the department likened to the more than 25 discussions Sessions had with foreign ambassadors last year as a senior member of the Sen- ate Armed Services Com- mittee. But Sessions did not dis- close his discussions with Kislyak at his Senate con- firmation hearing in Jan- uary when asked what he would do if "anyone affil- iated" with the campaign had been in contact with officials of the Russian gov- ernment. Sessions said he knew of no such contacts. He added, "I have been called a sur- rogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn't have, did not have commu- nications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it." ATTORNEY GENERAL Se ss io ns s te ps a si de f ro m Russia probe under pressure SUSANWALSH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Attorney General Jeff Sessions pauses during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington on Thursday. 6,428fans+29 this week Facebook Page YOU'LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE ..andgrowing,everyweek! Daily News Facebook fans receive special posts of breaking news, sports, weather and road closures, clicking right to full stories and photos published on redbluffdailynews.com ... Tehama County's most-visited local website ... things that fans want to know about, sooner rather than later! "LIKE" us at www.facebook.com/rbdailynews "Like" a story or item, leave a review, make a post on the site ... and more! ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. 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