From NFL Star to Trump’s Secretary of HUD

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Back to school is busy enough. The last thing you need is shopping that makes it harder. Whether you're moving into a dorm, your first department, or just getting organized for the semester, Wayfair makes it easy to get everything you need in one place. Furniture, bedding, storage, décor, study essentials, all at prices you'll love with fast shipping before move-in day.
Get everything you need for back to school season. shopwayfair.com today. Wayfair, every style, every home.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:30)
Tired of your car insurance rate going up even with a clean driving record? You're not alone. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant.
Jerry compares rates side by side from over 50 top insurers and helps you switch with ease. Jerry even tracks market rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year.
Switch with confidence. Download the Jerry app or visit jerry.ai/wire.

**Georgia Howe** (1:02)
Homelessness in the US has increased by nearly 30 percent since 2020, and the Trump administration is trying to do something about that. The man spearheading that effort also happens to be a former NFL star.

**Georgia Howe** (1:14)
In this episode, our very own Cabot Phillips sits down with Scott Turner, the US. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He breaks down economic opportunity zones, solutions to the homelessness crisis, and gives some insight into what it's like working alongside the president. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley, and this is a weekend episode of Morning Wire.

**Cabot Phillips** (1:35)
All right. We are joined now, very special guest, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner. Mr. Secretary, thanks for being here.

**Scott Turner** (1:42)
Great to be here. Thank you.

**Cabot Phillips** (1:44)
We're just apologizing to you all fair that you had to hang out with Michael Knowles.
So, we'll try and make this slightly more enjoyable.
For our audience who hears HUD, and they have a general idea of what your job entails, but maybe they don't know everything. Can you just explain for folks what your day-to-day looks like and what your broader goals are?

**Scott Turner** (2:01)
For sure. HUD stands for Housing and Urban Development. It was started in 1968 under Lyndon B. Johnson. But HUD is more than just housing. We also handle disaster recovery, long-term mitigation, working with FEMA and SBA.
We also help in the homelessness that we have going on in our country. We are very much involved in the funding from a continuum of care standpoint. So housing, homelessness, disaster. We have about 15 or 16 program offices, almost 6,000 people at HUD and an $83 billion budget to help some of the most vulnerable people in our country.
HUD is a very unique place and we have a unique mission. And right now, we are helping Americans, about 1.5 million Americans last year to become homeowners through our FHA program, which is a first-time homebuyer program. And about 80% of those are first-time homebuyers. And so we are very proud of that. But one thing we are doing right now, Cabot is tearing down regulation in our country so that builders can build and buyers can buy. And that's a top priority for us. And to transform and revitalize the homelessness crisis that we have going on in our country. To move away from housing first and to move to a treatment first. Not just to house people, but get them housing and treat it and transform to a life of self-sustainability. So those are some of our top goals.

**Cabot Phillips** (3:26)
And for people getting to know you, you have a fascinating life story. So when you're a kid growing up in Texas, you're a track star, you go play football in Illinois, eight years in the league as a DB.
I'm sure you had dreams of playing in the NFL. Did you ever have dreams of being a member of the cabinet? You're a cabinet member. Did you ever think that would happen?

**Scott Turner** (3:45)
No, that was not part of the dream equation back then. But I always have had a heart to serve people.
I did have a dream of playing in the NFL, and I'm grateful to the Lord that I was able to do that for a long time. But I've had a heart to serve people, whether it be in sport, in business, in ministry, in being elected. And serving in the cabinet is an honorable thing. It's very humbling that the president would appoint you to serve the country as part of his cabinet, and it's something I don't take for granted. I take it very seriously. We have a lot of fun with it to help people in America, to fulfill their God-given potential, because I was able to, because people came alongside of me to help me. And so that's what myself and our team do on a daily basis.