Trump’s HUD pick faces a familiar foe: Senator Elizabeth Warren
As a candidate for President of the United States, Donald Trump, who will serve as Secretary of the United States U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Scott Turner will be questioned Thursday by lawmakers from both parties during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
But ahead of that hearing, a known Trump foe — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — promises to press Turner on a series of housing issues he may tackle if he gets the job.
In a letter to Turner On Sunday, Warren highlighted a series of housing issues that she said will be addressed at the hearing. And she mentioned positions Turner has taken publicly in the past that she is asking him to account for as he seeks to lead HUD and pursue its overarching mission.
Some questions are simple, such as whether Turner is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing. Warren also asks for Turner’s opinion on the housing policy blueprint outlined in the Heritage Foundation‘s Project 2025 playbook, which lists former HUD Secretary Ben Carson — whom Turner has described as a “mentor” — as an author.
Another question concerns Turner’s views on several HUD programs that Warren claims could be targeted for cuts by the new administration. These include the Housing Trust Fund, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and Pathways to Removal Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing).
Warren also asks Turner to explain his views on consolidation in the homebuilding industry and whether or not he sees it as a problem; the role of government in providing capital to the housing sector; and whether Trump’s promise to institute mass deportations could negatively impact the supply of workers to build homes.
Warren also asked whether there are “guardrails” the administration should put in place for its Opportunity Zones program, which Turner helped oversee during his time in administration. White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC).
Such zones “have been used to subsidize luxury real estate development for wealthy investors and in neighborhoods that already have significant resources and investment, rather than to build affordable housing or spur development in disinvested communities,” she said. according to reports from The New York Times in 2019.
Warren also included specific questions about renter support, as well as questions about affordable homeownership. She specifically brings the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs), as the Project 2025 housing agenda outlined a perceived need to increase them.
“Raising the MIP would raise housing costs for the hundreds of thousands of people who become homeowners and build wealth through FHA financing – disproportionately borrowers of color,” Warren said, “even though the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund capital ratio is 11, 47%. well above the legally required capital ratio of 2%.”
She asks whether Turner supports increasing the MIP, as many mortgage industry participants are calling for its further reduction in light of the capital ratio performance indicated in the FHA annual report. Congress published late last year.
Warren also added separate questions for other topics, including homelessness and whether he supports the “Housing First” policy; fair housing policies and the impact that proposed immigration policies could have on them; the role of institutional investors and landlords in the housing market; natural disasters and climate resilience; and HUD agency personnel and other resources.
“HUD’s housing and development programs have a profound impact on the lives of millions of Americans, especially amid our affordability crisis. The agency needs a strong, capable leader who believes in its mission and has the interest and ability to execute on that mission,” Warren said.
To some lawmakers, Turner is an unknown quantity, adding to the uncertainty about what the agency will look like under his leadership.
‘I don’t know him. I’ve never heard his name mentioned before. I have a vague memory of him playing football,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) told the news station NOTUS. Cleaver is a member of the broader housing and insurance subcommittee House Financial Services Committee. He said he “would just like to know what [Turner’s] theology of housing.”
But Republicans appear to be publicly backing Turner, unlike some of Trump’s other controversial Cabinet picks. In an analysis of the nominees and their likelihood of being confirmed by the Senate, Politico characterized Turner’s nomination as “healthy.”
“He will face tough Democratic questions about Trump’s plans to pursue Biden initiatives at HUD, but he will expect little skepticism from the Republican Party,” the report said.
