CAIRO — U.S. Rep. Mike Bost said the fact that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is traveling to Cairo on Tuesday to meet with public housing residents and community leaders in this beleaguered but optimistic city struggling with a housing crisis and longstanding economic woes speaks volumes about his character and leadership style.

“I admire him for coming. I thank him for coming at my request. This is something …you know how long we’ve been working on this. From the day that your article broke, it hit my doorstep … and my son asked me, ‘Have you read this?’ and then we were out running trying to help where we could.”