Shermichael Singleton, a senior adviser in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was fired from President Donald Trump's administration Wednesday after it was revealed he had once written an op-ed for The Hill in which he suggested conservatives had a moral obligation to "stand up to Trump."
Singleton, one of the few black conservatives in the Trump administration according to The New York Times, had been employed at HUD since January but was summarily released after his op-ed was discovered during the vetting process. He was helping prepare Ben Carson, expected to be confirmed to lead HUD later this month, for a cross country tour at the time of his termination.
In October 2016, Singleton wrote that "[the Republican] party in particular has allowed itself to be taken over by someone who claims to be a Republican but doesn't represent any of our values, principles or traditions. We allowed that hostile takeover to happen on our watch."
Singleton further wrote he was concerned with the "manner in which GOP nominee Donald Trump portrays our inner cities is as if they are the ailments of American society and should be exterminated and swiftly removed."
According to The New York Times, a person close to Singleton said he was initially vetted and presented with the op-ed, after which he answered questions related to the piece and expressed his support for Trump. However, a second look at the piece led to another conversation Wednesday wherein Singleton was told it was the reason for his termination. The New York Times reached out to Singleton by phone and his only comment was, “I can’t talk about that.”
Singleton had previously worked for a media company led by a friend of Carson's. He plans on returning to that position. In early February, the White House blocked a senior Republican foreign policy adviser, Elliott Abrams, from becoming deputy secretary of state for a similar discovery of anti-Trump writings. Abrams had been favored for the position by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
[blazepoll id="1245286" title="Do you agree with Singleton's termination?"]
