Ben Carson says he would not get rid of the Department of Education, a position contrary to several of his Republican White House primary rivals.

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Instead, the retired neurosurgeon said the agency should be used to monitor America’s colleges and universities for “extreme political bias.”

“I actually have something I would use the Department of Education to do,” Carson said on Glenn Beck’s radio show on Wednesday.

“Would it be pack boxes for the State Department? The IRS?” Beck joked.

“No, it would be to monitor our institutions of higher education for extreme political bias and deny federal funding if it exists,” he responded.

“I like that,” Beck rejoined.

Republican primary hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzTrump unleashing digital juggernaut ahead of 2020 Inviting Kim Jong Un to Washington Trump endorses Cornyn for reelection as O'Rourke mulls challenge MORE (R-Texas) has advocated abolishing the department, while front-runner Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE said it should be significantly cut to empower local districts.

Carson also said he would "intensify" the war on drugs and send a "stabilizing" military force back into Iraq if elected.