Former Charger, Trump Vet Now Tapped to Run HUD, Has History in San Diego’s Backcountry

Scott Turner, the choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a former NFL player who had a role in President-elect Donald Trump first administration.

Turner, 52, who was named executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in 2019, is the first Black person selected to be a member of the Republican’s new cabinet.

A native of the Dallas suburb, Richardson, Turner graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a defensive back and spent nine seasons in the NFL beginning in 1995, playing for the San Diego Chargers, the former Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos.

Turner should be familiar to San Diego County’s rural voters as a former aide to a long-time congressman.

During off-seasons, he worked as an intern for then-Rep. Duncan L. Hunter, whose district seat was Alpine. After Turner retired in 2004, he worked full time in the office.

In 2006, Turner ran unsuccessfully as a Republican in the crowded special election for California’s 50th Congressional District, finishing ninth in the race to replace disgraced Rep. Randy Cunningham.

Turner eventually enjoyed political success in his home state, where he joined the Texas House in 2013 as part of a crop of tea party-supported lawmakers. He tried unsuccessfully to become speaker before he finished his second term in 2016. He did not seek a third term.

Turner worked for a software company in a position called “chief inspiration officer” and said he acted as a professional mentor and pastor and counselor for employees and the executive team. He also has been a motivational speaker.

He and his wife, Robin Turner, founded a nonprofit promoting initiatives to improve childhood literacy. His church, Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas, lists him as an associate pastor. He is also chair of the center for education opportunity at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers to lay the groundwork if he won a second term.

In April 2019, Trump introduced Turner as the head of the new Opportunity and Revitalization Council. Trump credited Turner with “helping to lead an unprecedented effort that transformed our country’s most distressed communities.”

The mission of the council was to coordinate with various federal agencies to attract investment to so-called “Opportunity Zones,” economically depressed areas eligible for federal tax incentives.

HUD is responsible for addressing the nation’s housing needs. The agency oversees fair housing laws and housing for the poorest Americans, sheltering more than 4.3 million low-income families through public housing, rental subsidy and voucher programs.

The agency, with a budget of tens of billions of dollars, runs a multitude of programs that do everything from reducing homelessness to promoting homeownership. It also funds the construction of affordable housing and provides vouchers that assist low-income families in paying for private housing.

During the campaign, Trump focused mostly on the prices of housing, not public housing. He railed against high costs and said he could make housing more affordable by cracking down on illegal immigration and reducing inflation.

He also said he would work to reduce regulations on home construction and make some federal land available for residential construction.