Housing initiatives and priorities are expected to move forward now that the Senate has confirmed Scott Turner as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the final step needed to lead one of the country’s top housing agencies.
The Senate approved in a 55-44 majority vote on Wednesday for President Trump’s nominee for HUD. Turner’s nomination received support across the aisle, with both Republicans and Democrats voting in his favor.
Given housing affordability concerns across the country, Trump said during his presidential campaign he would prioritize initiatives intended to boost inventory and provide more access to homeownership.
HUD launched in 1965 as an agency under the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. Its approximately 10,000 staffers focus on fair housing laws and incentives for affordable housing. For Turner, this marks a return to familiar grounds having worked at HUD under the first Trump administration.
“People worked well with him. That’s why there was support among housing stakeholder groups and industry groups, more so than what I’ve seen before for other nominees,” said Andy Winkler, director of housing and infrastructure at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Bipartisan Policy Center, in an interview. “It wasn't an overwhelming vote. He did have Democratic support, and I believe there would have been more if politicians hadn’t wanted to make a point.”
Football fans may remember Turner after he was drafted into the NFL in 1995. He played for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers during his NFL career that ended in 2003 due to a leg injury while signed with the Denver Broncos. The Texas native returned to his home state and dived into local and state politics.
Under the first Trump administration, Turner worked within HUD to help with select housing initiatives, including opportunity zones, a program that incentivized developers to build dense, mixed-income housing in up-and-coming neighborhoods across the country.
Turner has the rare experience of having previously worked at HUD, Winkler said. Other nominees under different administrations — from Bush to Biden — had government-related experiences, but none had worked in the building.
“A lot of people,” Winkler said, “are optimistic that he will bring enthusiasm to the job.”
The National Housing Conference said in a Wednesday statement the organization looks forward to working with Turner to modernize and simplify HUD's regulations to make it easier to use HUD programs.
"We are eager to collaborate on initiatives that support the construction of affordable housing, particularly for first-time and first-generation homebuyers, as well as addressing the insurance crisis," said David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, in the statement.
This story was corrected on Feb. 6 to show Winkler said the vote was not overwhelming.