On February 5, the U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Turner as secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Turner takes over the position from Marcia L. Fudge, who announced her retirement last year.
Turner is the first head of HUD with actual experience producing housing for the private sector. He led the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during the first Trump administration, where, as executive director, he helped launch a program aimed at attracting private investment in Opportunity Zones, an effort Trump again promoted during the 2024 presidential race.
The former NFL player and four-year Texas state representative also served as chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute before joining Dallas-based apartment developer JPI as chief visionary officer. He held the position since June 2023 during which he joined in meetings between developers and local governments.
Having a HUD secretary with real world experience is “huge,” said Madera Residential principal and head of investment strategy Jay Parsons on his LinkedIn blog after hearing about Turner’s HUD confirmation.
Parsons think his experience trying to get housing approved and built gives Turner “a valuable and unique perspective that his predecessors lacked.”
As HUD chief, Turner will be responsible for ensuring that HUD’s budget goes toward housing assistance for lower income families, the elderly and disabled and enhances community development and homelessness programs. His department will lead on issues ranging from rising housing costs, helping veterans and the homeless with housing and helping struggling cities boost economic development through Opportunity Zones programs.
During his confirmation hearing, Turner spoke of the Opportunity Zone initative he helped direct in 2017. “I saw first hand the impact of this initiative, as it gave Americans living in underserved communities an opportunity, a foundation to start businesses, to live in better homes, to be self-sustaining, to be confident, and to unleash that promise and potential that the lord has given each of us in our country,” he said.
As of now, the Opportunity Zones initiative allows participating investors to defer taxes on gains into qualifying low-income neighborhoods until the program expires in late 2026.
Parsons pointed out that Turner is the second professional football player to lead HUD. “(The first) was the legendary quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, the great Jack Kemp. Kemp served as HUD Secretary under George H.W. Bush,” he wrote.
ProPublica published what some see as a hit article about Turner prior to his HUD confirmation by piecing together his comments and positions on issues while serving as Texas state representative and during Trump’s first term as president. A Turner spokesperson called the article an effort to “paint a negative picture of Mr. Turner before he is even given the opportunity to testify.”
Liberal non-profit news organization NPR pointed out that Turner told senators HUD needs to reform and streamline programs, notably the Section 8 housing voucher program, and stated that burdensome regulations slow down construction and add to the cost of housing. He promised to work with states to ease their own rules, efforts the multifamily housing industry will no doubt champion.
The National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association both congratulated Secretary Turner on his confirmation. He is the only current Black American member of President Trump’s cabinet. During Trump’s first term, the only Black American cabinet member was Ben Carson, who also served as HUD chief and is said to have been a mentor to Turner.
