“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black,
examines the issues and what’s at stake for Black America.
I’ve watched several of the confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet nominees, but the hearing for “the Black job” was the Blackest yet — and perhaps also the most revealing about the next four years.
Scott Turner, the only Black person Trump has nominated for his cabinet, is almost certain to be confirmed for “the Black job.”
You know the job.
It’s the same job that Ben Carson, Alphonso Jackson, and Samuel Pierce had. It’s the one job that Republicans love to give to a Black person: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Turner’s hearing on Thursday was polite and non-confrontational, especially compared to the hostility from Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi and the incompetence of Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.
Turner is in over his head.
Based solely on his decorum at the hearing, Turner actually seems to be a nice guy, and just like Herschel Walker, Trump’s pick for the non-cabinet position to be ambassador to the Bahamas, Turner is a former professional football player.
But it’s clear to me that Turner is in over his head — not so much in terms of ability but in his lack of resilience to withstand the pressure from his Republican colleagues, his reluctance to advocate for fair and affordable housing, and his powerlessness to stand up to his bosses in the Trump administration.
The Senate Banking Committee that will vote on his confirmation includes four Black members: the Republican chair, Tim Scott, who famously professed his love for Trump and obsequiously rubber stamps his agenda with a toothy smile, and three Democrats who tried repeatedly and failed to get Turner to commit to fighting for housing needs.
Delaware Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester asked Turner if he supports mandatory work requirements that would kick many vulnerable people off of Section 8. It took three times before he finally admitted that he supports these restrictions.
Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks asked if he would oppose cuts to HUD programs for affordable housing for low-income households. “What I will commit to looking at these programs and to maximize the budget,” Turner responded. That didn’t answer the question, so Alsobrooks asked again, and Turner only pledged that he “will work with the president” and Congress within “the budget that we do have.”
Alsobrooks then asked about Elon Musk’s proposal to lay off 75% of HUD workers, and Turner meekly responded: “What I do support is encouraging people to do the job that they’ve been called to do.” But what exactly does that mean? That doesn’t answer the question.
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock asked about Trump’s proposed cuts to HUD’s budget, and Turner would only repeat his rehearsed talking points that he would “maximize that budget.”
You’re the nominee and you need to ‘become more well-studied’?
And when asked if he would crack down on racial discrimination in home appraisal bias, which Kamala Harris proposed to tackle during her presidential campaign, Turner replied, “We will continue to look into that, and I look forward to working with you on that and become more well-studied.”
You’re the nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and you need to “become more well-studied” on racial discrimination in home appraisals? That’s not a good sign.
We’ve seen this movie before, folks. Part of the reason we have a housing crisis today is because of decisions made decades ago when Ronald Reagan appointed a nice, quiet Black Republican HUD Secretary as the public face to preside over massive cuts in funding that would disproportionately hurt Black people.
When Congress passed the Housing Act of 1968, it committed the nation to the goal of producing 2.6 million units of housing a year, including 600,000 annually for low-income families. But when Reagan came into office, he slashed funding for housing programs and cut the proposed number of units for new construction to only 10,000. Reagan’s policies created a spiraling crisis of homelessness and affordable housing that still persists four decades later.
Most of the media attention in the coming days will focus on Trump’s crew of controversial, combative, and clearly unqualified white cabinet nominees, but we should also pay attention to what Trump might call “the Black job.”
Scott Turner’s confirmation hearing proves that Trump will not only follow but also expand on the Republican playbook of using a Black face to implement a decidedly anti-Black agenda.
Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition, cohosted the BET talk show My Two Cents, and taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York. He’s a Lambda Literary Award-winning author and editor of seven books. He lives in Los Angeles.
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