President-elect Donald Trump chose late Friday motivational speaker and former NFL player Scott Turner to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Turner served on a council in Trump’s first term overseeing federal opportunity zones, which aimed to build affordable housing in impoverished areas.
If confirmed, Turner, 52, who is the first Black pick for the incoming administration, would lead a federal agency that develops and manages programs to provide affordable housing and administers fair housing laws. Here’s what some prominent mortgage industry voices said about the pick:
Mortgage Banker Association (MBA) president and CEO Bob Broeksmit: “Pursuing policies and initiatives that help solve our nation’s housing affordability crisis for owners and renters should be a top policy priority under the Trump administration. Scott’s leadership as Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in the first Trump administration, where, alongside Secretary Ben Carson, he was instrumental in implementing Opportunity Zones, will serve him well.
“MBA is committed to working with the incoming HUD leadership and staff on policies and programs that boost housing supply, improve affordability, and address challenges and opportunities at the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae.”
Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA): “We look forward to continuing to work with HUD and the rest of the administration on creating affordable and accessible homeownership, particularly for first-time and underserved borrowers.
“Heading into 2025, CHLA will continue to spearhead important initiatives at FHA that protect borrowers and the community lenders that serve them, such as: premiums commensurate with risk, a partial claims payment option, streamlining condo approvals, and pay-scale comparability.”
Manufactured Housing Institute CEO Lesli Gooch: “We are thrilled about the nomination of Scott Turner as HUD Secretary. We appreciated his engagement and attention to manufactured housing in his previous role during President Trump’s first term. We look forward to working with him again to elevate innovative housing and expand attainable homeownership.”
