So, I have the responsibility of making sure that HUD functions and runs well.

America is a place where you can be born into a low-income household but still lift yourself up, and it doesn't matter what color you are.

You can't rise as a class. You have to rise individually. It's what many of the civil rights-era people don't understand.

The Bush administration is the most diverse in history because the president fills jobs on the basis of a person's capabilities and qualifications, not on the color of his or her skin.

In 1965, I marched for equality.

After leaving law school, I intentionally said that I never wanted to hold a job more than six years.

I was soon drawn to the Republican Party because I realized that it truly, not just rhetorically, believed in equality.