Former NFL player is confirmed as US Housing Secretary. The US Senate has confirmed Donald Trump’s nomination to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
Scott Turner, a former professional American football player, was confirmed 55-44 on Wednesday to lead the agency responsible for combating homelessness, supporting renters and homeowners, and prohibiting housing discrimination.
The agency and its 10,000 workers oversee a budget of more than $70 billion (£56 billion).
Turner played for the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, and Washington Redskins in the National Football League. He is among the Trump administration’s black cabinet nominees.
During Wednesday’s confirmation, only two Democrats were able to cast ballots for Turner. They are John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Peter Welch of Vermont.He takes up the position of secretary of housing, which Ben Carson held during Donald Trump’s first term in office. Carson was the only African American in the cabinet at the time.During the first term of Donald Trump, Turner was the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
He has previously served in the Texas legislature.
During his hearing last month before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, he mentioned that he grew up in Texas and worked as a dishwasher at a BBQ restaurant.Turner was open and honest with the committee during his testimony. Turner noted that more housing was needed in the country, as well as more labor, to address the homelessness situation in the United States. He stated that the agency was “broken” and that its employees needed to return to the workplace.
“We have a housing crisis in our country, where American people and families are struggling every day,” he told the committee. “HUD is failing at its most basic mission.”
The agency plays an extremely vital role in housing and development. The majority of its budget is dedicated to assisting low-income persons, the homeless, the elderly, and the crippled.
It provides rental assistance to more than two million families and manages 790,000 public housing units in the United States.
It runs a mortgage and loan insurance program for homeowners and provides block grants to support and expand low-income housing and community development.
In a statement, the non-profit National Association of Housing and Redevelopment stated that it was ready to collaborate with Scott “to achieve our shared vision of thriving communities with affordable homes for all”.
It also stated that it will collaborate with HUD to “ensure that housing and community development agencies nationwide receive their federally appropriated funds without disruption.”
