Article snippet: Former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro (D) announced Saturday that he will launch a bid for the White House in 2020. "I am a candidate for president of the United States of America," he said during a speech in his hometown of San Antonio, where he served as mayor until 2014. Castro, 44, had long been rumored to be in the running for president, after sitting out the 2018 Texas gubernatorial and Senate elections. The former Obama-era housing chief announced last month that he was forming an exploratory committee for a possible 2020 run. If elected, he would be the country's first Hispanic president. Castro used his speech Saturday to cast himself as a progressive candidate on issues such as health care and climate change, while blasting MORE over his immigration policies and moves at the border. "There is a crisis today, it's a crisis of leadership. Donald Trump has failed to uphold the values of our great nation," he said. Castro also rebuked the president's attacks on the press, thanking members of the media who attended the rally and calling the press "the friend of the truth" in America. The former Obama administration official said that if elected his first executive action would be to "recommit the United States to the Paris climate accord," referring to the 2015 deal from which Trump withdrew the U.S. He also pledged support for other progressive positions, including a "Medicare for all" single-payer health care system as well as ... Link to the full article to read more