The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Scott Turner as secretary of housing and urban development on Feb. 5, 2025. The Senate voted 55-44 in favor of his nomination with two Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and all 53 Republicans voting in favor. This was the twelfth member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term.
Trump announced on Nov. 22, 2024, that he had selected Turner as his nominee for secretary of housing and urban development. Trump said of Turner’s nomination, “Scott is an NFL Veteran, who, during my First Term, served as the First Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC), helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a confirmation hearing for Turner on Jan. 16, 2025, and voted 13-11 to advance his nomination.
Turner received a bachelor’s degree in speech communications from the University of Illinois in 1995. After graduating, Turner began playing in the National Football League (NFL). Turner played for the Washington Commanders, the San Diego Chargers, and the Denver Broncos before retiring in 2003. Turner first ran for public office in 2006 to represent California’s 50th Congressional District in the U.S. House. In 2012, Turner won election to the Texas House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 2014. During Trump’s first presidential term, Turner was the director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. His professional experience outside of politics includes working as a motivational speaker and author.
Looking just at the main 15 Cabinet secretaries who are in the line of presidential succession, and excluding other Cabinet-level positions, Turner was the tenth of the main Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, four of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.
At this point in the Biden administration, five of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration, 12 of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.
A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.
During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.