Marcia Fudge: What to know about Biden's HUD Secretary pick

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Longtime Democratic Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge will become the first woman to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development in decades if the Senate votes to confirm her nomination later this month.

The Senate will hold a confirmation hearing for Fudge on Thursday, Jan. 28, nearly two months after President Biden nominated her for the role. If confirmed, Fudge will replace Ben Carson, who served as HUD Secretary throughout former President Donald Trump’s term in office.

BIDEN EXPECTED TO NAME MARCIA FUDGE AS HUD SECRETARY

"It is something in probably my wildest dreams I would have never thought about. So if I can help this president in any way possible, I am more than happy to do it," Fudge said last December in response to reports that Biden planned to nominate her for the role.

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Fudge, 68, has served as the representative for Ohio’s 11th congressional district since 2008. A former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Fudge recently served on several House committees, including agriculture and education and labor. 

Prior to entering Congress, Fudge served as the mayor of Warrensville Heights in Ohio from 2000 to 2008. Her congressional career began when she replaced the late Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones following her sudden death in 2008.

Biden’s plan to nominate Fudge for the role of HUD secretary first surfaced on Dec. 8. Prior to his selection, Fudge had publicly lobbied for the role of agriculture secretary – a nomination that ultimately went to former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

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Biden’s admiration for Fudge’s record as an advocate for affordable housing and revitalization were a key factor in her selection, sources familiar with the president’s thinking told Fox News at the time.  Biden considered Fudge an ideal choice to lead his planned effort to combat hunger and homelessness in the country.

Fudge would be just the second Black woman to lead HUD in its history and the first woman to do so in more than 40 years.