Former presidential candidate and Trump official Dr. Ben Carson launched a training program for professionals to learn about the functions of the executive branch ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The online course “will outline the functions, processes, and laws governing agencies to enable a private citizen to navigate and succeed in public service” and is a project spearheaded by his think tank, the American Cornerstone Institute (ACI).
Carson, who served in the Trump administration as the housing and urban development secretary, launched the program to prepare “hardworking and loyal private citizens” to defend America’s “interests.”
“This program is so important because it shines a light on the unique barriers that political appointees often face in their work, how to address those barriers, and how to thus cultivate meaningful change and success in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of serving in the Executive Branch. My staff and I have been there before, we have the experience and the insight to share in order to better prepare those who haven’t,” Carson, the founder and chairman of ACI, told the Daily Caller.
The free program is intended for college students, congressional staffers, and professionals who want to learn about the executive branch from former officials.
Teachers for the self-certification training course include Carson, Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, former counselor to Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former special assistant to Trump Timothy Pataki.
US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson arrives to speak during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium on August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Alongside the course, a special feature includes “interviews from former administration officials who led key Executive Branch offices including, the Domestic Policy Council, Office of Management and Budget, Cabinet Secretaries, Office of Public Liaison and more,” the course outline reads. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Joe Biden Has Signs Of Dementia, Ben Carson Says In Informal Assessment)
Carson launched ACI in February of 2021 with the “goal of providing common-sense solutions to some of our nation’s biggest problems,” he wrote in a RealClearPolitics op-ed published at the time.
The think tank also has a “Little Patriots” program for children to learn about “history, civics lessons, and our nation’s values at home, in the classroom, or on the go.”