President-elect Trump announced his nomination of former NFL star Scott Turner for Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday.
“I am pleased to nominate Scott Turner, from the Great State of Texas, as the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),” Trump wrote in a press release.
Turner has a background in politics and unsuccessfully ran for a California Senate seat in 2006. A few years later he was elected to the Texas House where he served two terms from 2013 to 2017. Here’s what you need to know about the NFL star turned politician:
HUD budget cuts
Turner will follow in the steps of Ben Carson, who led HUD during Trump’s first administration. Carson helped put proposed budget cuts to the agency’s Community Development Block Grant program, the public housing capital fund and the HOME grant program for more affordable housing before Congress, according to NPR.
Many of those measures failed but may be reintroduced when Trump takes office, especially since Republicans have a majority in both the House and Senate. Carson authored an approach to HUD in the controversial Project 2025 playbook, which Trump denies being connected to.
The proposal suggests banning undocumented immigrants from living in federal housing and repealing parts of the Fair Housing Act which aims to prevent segregation as reported by NPR.
NFL Career
Turner spent 9 years in the NFL where he played as a defensive back for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. He also played in college for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he was drafted upon graduation in 1995 as a seventh round pick.
Trump has a history of enlisting major NFL stars to bolster his campaign including Brett Favre in addition to receiving endorsements from Pittsburgh Steelers greats Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.
Turner served in Trump’s first administration
During Trump’s first term, Turner led the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. The former president said that in the role he sparked “an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities” in his Friday night announcement.
Turner is the first Black appointee to Trump’s cabinet in his second administration. He still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
Turner heads a Trump think-tank
Turner currently works as chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at America First Policy Institute. The organization works as a think tank for the former president and employs his trusted staffers like Linda McMahon, who will head the Department of Education.
It was founded three years before the end of Trump’s first term in 2017.
He serves as a pastor
Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas currently lists Turner as an associate pastor. In the past, he has also worked as a “chief inspiration officer” for a software company according to Yahoo News.
In that role he served as a professional mentor, pastor, and councilor for the employees and executive team.
