While there was strong support for a new department from city residents, urban political leaders, and housing advocacy organizations, rural America was less receptive. This letter from John C. Lynn, Legislative Director of the American Farm Bureau Federation to Chairman Dawson questions the need for the department and voiced a “major concern” that the federal government “is going to perform a much larger role” in planning and financing urban development. The Farm Bureau was alarmed by Robert C. Weaver, Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, who had called for “a comprehensive program of federal responsibility” concerning urban development. Later in the year, Weaver became the first secretary of the new department and the first African-American to hold a cabinet-level position.