HUD nominee Turner vows to 'maximize' department resources

During a confirmation hearing covering topics ranging from affordability to department staffing, Donald Trump's Cabinet nominee committed to expanding housing opportunities but remained leery of using large amounts of federal spending to achieve that.

Nominated by the president-elect to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner was critical of how the government had been run over the past four years, vowing to rectify what he saw as excessive spending. 

"As we sit here, we have a housing crisis in our country. We have the American people and families that are struggling every day," Turner said in his introductory remarks. 

"The goal, if confirmed by this committee, is to look at all the programs at HUD, and take an account and take inventory and ask is this helping the mission of HUD, or is it not? Is it helping to build more affordable housing, or is it not?" he later added.

While he offered few concrete plans on potential solutions, Turner regularly stressed he was committed to improving affordability and housing opportunities across the country. He held back on agreeing to use government money to meet those goals. Instead, on multiple occasions, he said he would maximize the resources the department already had.

At the same time, Turner also declined to answer affirmatively when asked for assurances that he would protect HUD's budget or staffing, with other members of Trump's incoming administration calling for contraction. 

Instead, Turner touted his experience developing "opportunity zones" in underserved areas across the country in a position he held during the first Trump term. While supportive of the mission, Democratic critics suggested his work failed to address the affordable housing shortage and was geared toward commercial interests. 

Turner argued that his work resulted in obvious improvements for many communities.

"I've heard it across our country that this is one of the programs where my favorite mayors around the country, many of whom are Democrats, celebrate opportunity zones," he said. 

"If you look at the reports that we did while running the opportunity zone council, you'll see a million people were lifted out of poverty. Housing went up for minority families, salaries went up for minority families," Turner added. 

Senators also raised concerns about homeowners insurance, which has received heightened focus following a deadly 2024 hurricane season and wildfires in California. Turner acknowledged it was "getting ready to be a huge issue" and that he was prepared to work across industries to mitigate risk from any insurance crisis.