Donald Trump has nominated former NFL cornerback Scott Turner to become his new secretary for housing and urban development.
Turner, 52, spent nearly a decade in the NFL with the then-Washington Redskins, the then-San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos.
During Trump’s first term in office, Turner served as the First Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC).
‘I am pleased to nominate Scott Turner, from the Great State of Texas, as the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),’ the president-elect said in a statement.
‘Scott will work alongside me to Make America Great Again for EVERY American. Congratulations to Scott, his wonderful wife, Robin, and his son, Solomon!’
Trump praised Turner’s work during his first term, claiming he ‘helped to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.’
Donald Trump has nominated Scott Turner to be secretary for housing and urban development
The 52-year-old played for Washington, San Diego and Denver between 1995 and 2004
Turner, the highest-ranking black figure Trump has selected for his administration so far, was picked in the seventh round of the 1995 NFL draft.
After three seasons in Washington, he joined the Chargers. Turner left San Diego in 2002, before joining the Broncos a year later.
The Richardson native played his final season in the NFL in 2003-04. He later served as a representative for the 33rd District in the Texas House of Representatives.
Turner’s nomination comes just days after Trump picked billionaire WWE mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department.
McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the US Senate in Connecticut.
McMahon, who built the WWE alongside her estranged husband Vince, is seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.
