WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Ben Carson, a former U.S. housing secretary and retired neurosurgeon, was sworn in on Wednesday as a national adviser on nutrition, health and housing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency said.Carson, who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, will advise Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and join Rollins in activities of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, USDA said in a statement.Trump has charged the MAHA Commission with addressing childhood chronic disease.Ben Carson speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, July 11, 2021. Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg via Getty Images“Dr. Carson will be crucial to implementing the rural health investment provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill and advise on America First polices,” Rollins said in the statement.He will “serve as the Department’s chief voice” on nutrition, rural healthcare quality and housing accessibility, USDA said.Carson’s appointment was earlier reported by Bloomberg News.(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Leslie Adler)Close