The Senate confirmed Scott Turner, President Donald Trump‘s pick to become housing secretary, on Wednesday morning.

The former NFL quarterback who served in Trump’s first administration was confirmed in a bipartisan, 55-44 vote.

Turner ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term and was a former Texas state lawmaker. At his confirmation hearing to become the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), he called out a recent report from the agency that acknowledged an 18.1% increase in homelessness in the U.S. in 2024.

“HUD, if you will, is failing at its most basic mission,” Turner said. “And that has to come to an end.”

During his hearing, he discussed his own personal story, sharing how he and his family helped an uncle, a homeless veteran.

“When they found him, my family and I were able to come around him, to love him, to take him in, to give him the wraparound services that he needed,” Turner said.

As secretary, Turner will be in charge of an agency with an annual budget of about $76 billion. HUD is responsible for various programs for public housing, rental vouchers, community development grants, mortgage insurance, and enforcing the Fair Housing Act.

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During his hearing, Democrats expressed concerns about whether Turner would seek cuts to community development block grants and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides federal funding for local governments to build affordable housing.

“As you know, Congress holds the purse strings to the budget,” Turner said in response to questioning from Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). “My job, if confirmed as secretary, is to maximize that budget to meet the needs of our country to serve those we’ve been called to serve.”