An associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, is the first Black person and third Southern Baptist nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve in his cabinet.
Scott Turner, 52, a former NFL player, has been nominated by Trump to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Prestonwood Senior Pastor Jack Graham, a vocal supporter of Trump, praised Turner’s selection. In a Nov. 22 tweet, Graham said: “What a glorious choice Prestonwood’s own Scott Turner in the Trump cabinet. Great man who will do a tremendous job in this important responsibility.”
Scott Turner
Unlike several of Trump’s other cabinet nominees, Turner is unlikely to generate significant controversy or opposition. Another Southern Baptist, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, last weekend withdrew from his nomination to serve as attorney general due to persistent questions about his sexual ethics and alleged abuse of a 17-year-old girl.
Now, Turner is one of two Southern Baptists on deck for Senate confirmation hearings to serve in Trump’s cabinet. The other is Douglas Collins, nominee for secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a former pastor and military chaplain who earned a master of divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Turner’s role as an associate pastor at Prestonwood is just one of many roles he currently holds.
He is the founder and president of Community Engagement and Opportunity Council, an organization that supports children living in poverty and has made a major contribution to the Bonton neighborhood of South Dallas. He also serves as chief visionary officer for JPI, a national developer of affordable multifamily housing. And he and his wife, Robin Turner, own Statesman Clothiers, a custom men’s clothing company.
He also serves as chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at America First Policy Institute, a far-right advocacy group set up by former Trump administration staffers whose mission is devote to “the primacy of American workers, families and communities.” In that role, Turner has advocated for school vouchers.
Prestonwood operates the largest Christian private school in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, enrolling about 2,000 students.
Turner grew up not far from Prestonwood, in the adjacent suburb of Richardson, Texas. There, he attended J.J. Pearce High School and Mount Pisgah Baptist Community Church, where members of his family have attended since 1898.
After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Turner played as a defensive back across nine seasons in the NFL beginning in 1995, playing for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos.
He got his start in politics working for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and made his own unsuccessful run for Congress from California in 2006. In 2013, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Tea Party Republican. He served two terms in Austin.
In 2019, Trump appointed Turner as director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. After Trump did not win reelection in 2020, Turner returned to Texas and joined the Prestonwood staff.
Although Turner is not well known nationally, his nomination drew praise from some in the low-income housing community.
David M. Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference to The New York Times: “Scott Turner has a well-established commitment to community development and was a vocal advocate for investing in underserved communities in the first Trump administration.”
Although Turner does not have extensive specific experience in public housing or low-income housing, his most recent work has some relation to the field and relates more to community redevelopment. Part of his portfolio during his brief stint on the White House staff involved housing, and his own charitable work in Dallas has been focused on strengthening low-income communities through literacy work.
In a post on LinkedIn, Turner expressed “the sincerest of gratitude” to former HUD Secretary Ben Caron, whom Turner called his “mentor.” He added: “Few people are as compassionate and gracious as he is, and I am aware that I have big shoes to fill. The forgotten men and women of this great country over the past four years will be honored in the Trump administration.”