10 Takeaways from Today's Confirmation Hearing for HUD Secretary Nominee Scott Turner

Sponsored by: Madera Residential

Mr. Turner went to Washington today. HUD Secretary nominee Scott Turner — and current executive at apartment builder JPI — met with the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

If confirmed, Scott would become THE FIRST leader of HUD who comes into the role with actual experience building housing in the private sector.

And he’d be THE SECOND former NFL player to head up HUD, following Jack Kemp (1989-1993 under Bush 1).

I’m no political expert; but based on a pretty cordial and low-volume hearing, it appears Turner is well positioned for smooth confirmation. Several prominent Republicans, including committee chair Sen. Tim Scott, endorsed Turner. Democrats, for their part, mostly pushed Turner on the White House’s potential budget cuts to HUD, but did not challenge Turner’s qualifications or character.

The hearings were a mix of political grandstanding (from both sides) and some very interesting insight into Turner’s priorities and values that he’d bring into HUD. Here are 10 takeaways from the hearing:

Top 10 Insights from Scott Turner’s Statements

1. Scott Turner wants to build a lot more housing. Great line in his opening statement: “As a country, we’re not building enough housing. We need millions more homes of all kinds – single family, apartments, condos, duplexes, manufactured housing, you name it, so individuals and families can have a roof over their heads and a place to call home.” Turner also said "we do have an affordability crisis," and says we need to "make it easier to build workforce and affordable housing" by easing burdens on builders.

2. Turner wants to “take inventory” of current HUD programs to see what works and what doesn’t, then double down on what works. He talked about this so much that you can tell he’s passionate about it. He recalled a childhood memory watching his father working at Safeway grocery store taking inventory. He asked his dad why, and his dad said because they needed to see what was selling and what wasn’t. Scott also talked about, how as an NFL player, he’d study tape to learn how to improve. He wants same at HUD.

3. Turner called out the 32% increase in homelessness over the last two years and concluded: “HUD is failing at its most basic mission… That’s a national embarrassment and something that cannot continue.”

4. Turner wants to help lower-income Americans “climb the economic ladder” and “achieve self-sufficiency.” Turner shared personal stories of an uncle, a veteran who ended up homeless, and of his wife growing up in government-subsidized housing. He said he understood those challenges and stated: “My goal is to help people get off government assistance and achieve self-sufficiency and the American dream."

5. Turner talked a lot about spurring more construction by pushing to reduce development costs and pursue deregulation. Called out “permitting fees, inspection fees, zoning difficulties,” and noted regulations comprise 40% of multifamily and 20-25% of single-family development costs. Many of those issues are local, and Turner said he would encourage (but not force) cities to pursue reform. He was also asked about tariffs, and said that was an issue for the White House and Congress.

6. Turner wants to extend and expand Opportunity Zone legislation, which he helped roll out initially under the first Trump administration. Called it a big boost to housing supply and affordability, as well as to employment. Turner says he wants to double down on OZ's “but this time, get the rules out faster so you know exactly what you're working with.” He also made some comments that suggested (my interpretation, which could be wrong) expanding OZ legislation to include incentives for building for-sale starter homes.

7. Turner used facts to correct misleading statements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren blaming affordability challenges on Wall Street purchasing single-family homes, noting institutions own only 2% of single-family rentals. His response suggested a federal pivot to address realer, bigger factors hindering affordability. That was a big comment, in part because the incoming Vice President, JD Vance, made comments similar to Warren’s in his prior role as a senator.

8. Turner was asked a lot about potential budget cuts to HUD. And for understandable reasons, as the first Trump administration had proposed cutting HUD’s budget. Turner rebuffed Democrats’ requests for a blanket commitment to oppose any cuts. Instead, Turner said he'd fight for programs that are proven to advance HUD's mission to “support quality affordable homes.” Turner made it clear (as noted above) he wants to dive into every program to see what works and what doesn’t. His comments suggested he’s skeptical of the argument that every current program is effective or efficient. Turner said he sees opportunities for HUD to support more housing by operating more efficiently.

9. Turner said he supported housing vouchers but wants to make them "less cumbersome” and “more efficient” for renters and housing providers, suggesting we’d see better adoption if the program was “less burdensome.” Also supported work requirements.

10. Turner said HUD employees have low in-office turnout, and wants them back in the office. “Every report I’ve seen shows HUD at the bottom when it comes to employees returning to work. We need to bring the HUD staff back to the office so that they are empowered to serve the American people.”

Lots of Football Fans in this Senate Committee

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced Turner, and jokingly bemoaned the fact that Turner — though from the Dallas area — played for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) and not the Dallas Cowboys. Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) joked that before moving to Washington to join Congress, he always thought D.C. stood for “Dallas Cowboys.”

• It turns out that Turner might still be a Washington fan despite his Dallas area roots. Asked if he was thinking “Go Commanders” (the team that drafted Turner into the NFL) ahead of playoff games this weekend, Turner grinned and responded: “Anything Commanders/Redskins, I'm for it” before laughing.

• In one of the lighter moments of the hearing, Sen. Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware) blurted out "Go Eagles” as her 5-minute time allotment expired, and Turner jokingly responds: "Ew. You had to get that in. I thought your time was up."

• Sen. Katie Britt joined in the football talk with a "Go Pats." She represents Alabama but her husband played Wesley played offensive line for the New England Patriots.

• Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis notes noted Wyoming doesn't have an NFL team, but is cheering on the Buffalo Bills because ex-University of Wyoming QB Josh Allen playing for them.

Other Highlights from the Confirmation Hearing

Here’s an assortment of other highlights and takeaways:

• Asked about speeding up HUD programs to help after natural disasters, Turner had a good response. Turner says "every time a disaster happens, it's almost like HUD has to re-invent the wheel so statutory authority would be very helpful" to get resources out to people in need after natural disasters.

• Really interesting exchange on a topic that limits how realtors and leasing agents can talk about neighborhood safety. Sen. Banks asked about federal rules limiting how realtors and leasing agents can talk about crime rates, and Turner said, “That's wrong,” and promised to look into it. He said people want to know about neighborhood crime stats when looking for a home.

• Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) proposed tying federal aid to housing supply results, incentivizing more than 3% supply growth, says that would force cities to get honest about zoning and entitlement rules, etc. Turner says “incentivizes do a lot,” harking back to his experience as an NFL player working toward incentivizes. Kennedy said "sticks" do a lot too. Turner didn’t directly address Kennedy's proposal, but says incentivizes and competition are good for boosting housing supply.

• Strong line from Turner: "Poverty has no party. Homelessness has no party. It doesn’t see red or blue. My call is to be a steward, a champion, an ambassador. I want to lift up the stories of all the forgotten Americans. And I want to work with you to do it."

• Turner is going to be on the road a lot, apparently. Lots of senators asking for him to visit their states to understand their housing challenges, including on tribal lands in the West and in flooded mountain towns of North Carolina. Turner said “yes” to all of them.

• Turner talked a lot about homeownership as how most families begin to build wealth. He sees it as important to support the American Dream.

• Sen. Banks also asked Turner about federal grants for faith-based service programs like soup kitchens, whose grants could be jeopardized if they offer prayers before meals. Turner says he’s a man of prayer and believes we should embrace all faiths, and suggests he doesn't support rules that prevent prayers.

• Turner says we often think about housing as urban, “but our rural friends have the same, if not more, needs when it comes to home affordability.”

• Turner also fielded several questions about supporting housing on tribal lands, and promised to do so.

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