The new secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been a professional football player, Texas representative and White House aide. As head of HUD, Scott Turner’s job is to provide affordable housing to lower-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. The department also administers fair housing laws. As he begins his term at the department, here are a few of his priorities for the federal agency.
His initial plans adhere very closely to President Donald Trump’s agenda, including changes to HUD policies on gender identity. HUD had sought in Trump’s first term in office to allow homeless shelters to deny access to transgender people.
One day after being confirmed by the Senate, Turner announced that HUD would not condition funding for homeless shelters and other facilities based on whether they accommodate someone’s gender identity.
“We are carrying out the mission laid out by President Trump on Jan. 20, when he signed an executive order to restore biological truth to the federal government,” Turner said at a press conference, according to the New York Post. “This means recognizing there are only two sexes, male and female.”
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Turner said a top priority for him is to help privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises that guarantee most of the mortgages in the U.S. The former NFL player even said he would like act as “a quarterback” of sorts with the other stakeholders in the process of freeing the enterprises from government control.
Turner said all programs and policies will be examined closely to root out inefficiencies and lower housing costs. That will include those programs involved with diversity, equity and inclusion. Turner is also discussing a return-to-office policy for HUD employees.
As a White House aide during Trump’s first term, Turner served as executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which promoted opportunity zones. The zones were considered successes at the time for bringing investment money to low-income urban neighborhoods in return for tax breaks. Turner has announced he plans to continue work on the opportunity zones during his tenure at HUD.
Because of the shortage of housing, the Trump administration has floated the idea of building more housing on federal lands. Turner told the Journal that he plans to travel around the country, in part to see what land is available.
Turner has also announced he is interested in changing the name of the department, saying that the HUD moniker no longer reflects all its priorities. He would like to incorporate rural and tribal communities in a future name but acknowledges the process will take time.
