Trump’s pick to lead HUD faces home affordability woes and possible budget cuts
CNN
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If the Senate confirms Scott Turner as secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, he will take over responsibility for America's largest housing agency at a time when the nation's home affordability needs are in hyper-focus.
Donald Trump ran on the promise of steep government budget cuts, and some industry experts believe money flowing toward HUD could be on the chopping block. The housing agency provides rental assistance for low-income households, administers mortgage insurance to prospective homeowners and enforces fair housing law.
"Given budget pressures and the desire to cut a lot, I worry about the shortage of affordable housing, the rent increases, all of that being visited on lower-income households who live paycheck to paycheck," said Bob Greenstein, a visiting fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.
America's largest housing industry groups said they were hopeful that Turner, a former NFL player who had worked closely with HUD Secretary Ben Carson during Trump's first term, would work with them to improve home affordability in America.
Carl Harris, the chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a Friday statement that the organization hopes to work with Turner on cutting regulations.
"The nation's home builders stand ready to work together with HUD to roll back costly regulations and implement policies that will provide affordable homeownership and rental housing opportunities for all Americans," Harris said.
Bob Broeksmit, the president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, a group representing the real estate finance industry, congratulated Turner in a statement on Friday. Broeksmit said that pursuing initiatives that help solve America's housing affordability crisis should be a top priority for the Trump administration.
"MBA is committed to working with the incoming HUD leadership and staff on policies and programs that boost housing supply, improve affordability, and address challenges and opportunities at the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae," Broeksmit said.
Turner's department may face budget cuts
If confirmed, Turner would take over at a time when home rentals and purchases are becoming unaffordable for many Americans. That means more people could depend on HUD's affordable housing services.
During Trump's first term, his office repeatedly sought to make steep cuts to HUD's budget, though they never passed Congress. Trump has doubled down on his commitment to cut spending across the US government, appointing Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" that's focused on slashing government costs and regulations.
Howard Husock, a senior fellow in domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said there would likely once again be pressure on HUD to cut budgets in Trump's second term.
He said that housing choice vouchers could be in the crosshairs. Sometimes known as Section 8 vouchers, they aid low-income families in leasing affordable privately owned rental housing and make up the largest part of HUD's budget.
"It has increased a lot under Biden, and Turner would have to decide how to handle that and whether he wants to change the rules of the housing vouchers," Husock said. If Trump successfully implements budget cuts "there will be longer waiting lists for housing vouchers. There's no doubt about that, if nothing else changes," Husock added.
Liz Osborn, the vice president of policy at Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit focused on home access and affordability, said that HUD budget cuts in Trump's second term aren't a guarantee, though.
"Given a need that's being felt by constituents across the country, we can hopefully look to see continued strong funding for important programs at HUD," Osborn said. "Even though the presidential budget requests included cuts for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, ultimately, we saw increases in appropriations for the department during Trump's first term."
Turner oversaw Trump's opportunity zone initiative
Turner served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump's first term. The council was designed to help turn around distressed communities by directing billions of dollars of private investment into so-called "Opportunity Zones" as part of Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
"Those efforts, working together with former HUD Secretary, Ben Carson, were maximized by Scott's guidance in overseeing 16 Federal Agencies which implemented more than 200 policy actions furthering Economic Development," Trump said in his announcement of Turner's HUD nomination. "Under Scott's leadership, Opportunity Zones received over $50 billion dollars in private investment!"
Trump's 2017 tax cut bill expires during his second term. If the Opportunity Zone program is renewed, Turner will likely once again play a role in its implementation.
However, a 2020 study by the Urban Institute funded by JPMorgan Chase found that the program wasn't fully effective.
"Although there are compelling examples of community benefit, the incentive as a whole is not living up to its economic and community development goals," the study's authors wrote. "The incentive's structure makes it harder to develop projects with community benefit in places with greatest need."
