The secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, visited Houston Friday to discuss $5 billion in community development block grants for Houston and other communities affected by Hurricane Harvey.

He joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, outside the city hall of the small city of Southside Place.

"These grants will rebuild homes, restore jobs and repair critical infrastructure, like roads, bridges, sewers and water systems," Carson said.

All four praised first responders and volunteers who helped with the rescue and recovery from Harvey.

Several dozen protesters holding signs occasionally interrupted their speeches with chants of “too little too late” and “vote him out.”

One of them was Zoe Middleton with Texas Housers, a low income housing advocacy group. She questioned why the secretary chose a community that was hardly affected by Harvey.

"If he wants to prioritize those people in recovery, he needs to see how they live and see the conditions they were left behind by the storm," Middleton said.

Carson said he wanted to acknowledge the first responders of Southside Place, who he said did "an amazing job."

.@HUDgov will stand with the state of Texas as it rebuilds. Texans, not Washington, will determine how the rebuilding funds are spent pic.twitter.com/tIk1ADXojh — Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) April 20, 2018

.@HUDgov's total investment in Texas post Harvey is $10 billion pic.twitter.com/u6kNoS5ewH — Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) April 20, 2018

Protesters heckle Ben Carson, Greg Abbott during press conference in Southside Place @HoustonPubMedia pic.twitter.com/Wj669Gnj82 — Florian Martin (@Florian_News887) April 20, 2018

.@SecretaryCarson joined @GovAbbott and @SenTedCruz to address the long-term disaster recovery taking shape in Texas following #HurricaneHarvey. "A stronger Texas means a stronger America." Watch here → https://t.co/gyZls8CHze pic.twitter.com/6xpOy7hxKX — HUDgov (@HUDgov) April 20, 2018

It's great to see our next generation is so patriotic #USA We are going to work hard to make sure their future is bright pic.twitter.com/zSEHqaQyox — Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) April 20, 2018

Subscribe to Today in Houston Fill out the form below to subscribe our new daily editorial newsletter from the HPM Newsroom. Email* First Name Last Name * required