Former NFL player confirmed as US housing secretary

 

Former NFL player confirmed as US housing secretary  The US Senate has confirmed Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.

Scott Turner, a former professional American football player, was confirmed 55-44 on Wednesday to run the agency tasked with addressing homelessness, assisting renters and homeowners, and preventing housing discrimination.

The agency and its 10,000 employees manage a budget of over $70bn (£56bn).

Turner was also a player with the National Football League, this time with Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, and San Diego Chargers. He is one of the black cabinet nominees from the Trump administration.

Just two Democrats managed to vote for Turner during Wednesday's confirmation. They are Peter Welch of Vermont and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

He fills the secretary of housing role, the same one Ben Carson occupied in Donald Trump's first White House term. Then too, Carson was a solitary African American cabinet member.

Turner served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in Donald Trump's first term.

Read More: Senate Confirms Scott Turner For HUD Secretary

He earlier also served in the Texas legislature.

He recalled during his testimony last month before the Senate's banking, housing, and urban affairs committee that he grew up in Texas and worked as a dishwasher at a BBQ restaurant.

While testifying before the committee, Turner was candid with the board. Turner stated that more housing was needed in the country, while more work was also necessary to halt the homelessness crisis in the United States. According to him, the agency was "broken" and its workforce needed to go back to the office.

"We have a housing crisis in our country, where American people and families are struggling every day," he said before the committee. "HUD is failing at its most basic mission."

The agency has a very important role in housing and development. Most of its budget goes into helping low-income people, homeless individuals, and the elderly and disabled.

It offers rental assistance to over two million families and administers 790,000 public housing units in the US.

It operates a mortgage and loan insurance program for homeowners and allocates block grants to support and develop low-income housing and assistance for community development.

In a statement, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment non-profit said it was ready to work with Scott "to achieve our shared vision of thriving communities with affordable homes for all".

It also said it would work with HUD to "ensure that housing and community development agencies nationwide receive their federally appropriated funds without disruption.".