Barney Frank dispels rumors he wants to head HUD

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., on Tuesday squashed speculation that he wants the top U.S. housing policy job when he leaves Congress after the 2012 elections. Frank, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, had previously expressed interest in leading the Housing and Urban Development Department. But he said he changed his mind after the 2008 financial crisis sidelined his efforts to advance affordable rental housing programs that he had hoped to then run at HUD. "The reasons I would have liked to have been secretary of HUD would have been to administer programs that don't exist," he said. Frank also said that he was not sure how well he would have taken orders, even in a Democratic administration. "Having thought about it more, I am doubtful of my capacity to have been a loyal member of somebody else's administration at this point in my career," he said.