Banking Committee reports Scott Turner nomination to full Senate after 13–11 vote amid dispute over FBI background check

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voted 13to11 to report favorably the nomination of Scott Turner to be secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, advancing the nomination to the full Senate.

The vote followed partisan debate over whether the committee should wait for an FBI background check before voting. Committee Chairman (unnamed) opened the executive session by moving to adopt committee rules and subcommittee membership en bloc and then moved to favorably report Mr. Turnerto the Senate. The chairman praised Turnerhighlighting his personal story and work on opportunity zones and saying, "It's time to undo the Biden administration's far left policies and burdensome regulations that have put the American dream out of reach for millions of Americans." The chairman also told colleagues Turner believes the country needs "millions, millions more homes of all kinds" and described Turner's leadership of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council and an asserted flow of "$50,000,000,000" into majority-minority communities.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the committee's ranking member, said she would vote no because she and others on the committee had not received Turners FBI background check. Warren said, "it would be irresponsible for this committee to vote on a cabinet nominee without his background check, and it would not be consistent with committee precedent." Warren added that other committees had postponed hearings or votes when background checks were incomplete and that the committee should follow the customary practice of completing the FBI review before holding a committee vote.

Other members disagreed about committee practice. Several senators said the Banking Committee does not require an FBI background check before a vote and described access to such reports as inconsistent across past chairs. One senator urged the committee to adopt a clear rule going forward that would delay committee votes until FBI reports are available. Another suggested members could vote the nomination out of committee while reserving the right to change their votes on the Senate floor if the FBI report was not produced in time.

The committee called the roll following debate. The clerk recorded the vote as 13 in favor and 11 opposed. The roll-call statements in committee were recorded in the transcript as follows (as spoken in the hearing): "Mister Crapo. Aye. Mister Rounds. Aye. Mister Tillis. Aye. Mister Kennedy. Aye. Miss Lummis. Aye. Aye. Mrs. Brett. Aye. Mr. Ricketts. Aye. Aye. Mr. Banks. Yes. Mr. Kramer. Aye. Mr. Moreno. Aye. McCormack. Aye. Miss Warren. No. Mr. Reid. No. Mr. Warner. No. Mr. Van Holland. No. Miss Cortez Masto? No. Miss Smith? No. Mister Warnock? No. Mister Kim? No. Mister Gallego? No. Miss Blunt Rochester? No. Miss also Brooks. No." The clerk reported "the vote is 13 in favor of 11 opposed," and the chairman ordered the nomination "reported favorably to the full senate."

Separately, at the start of the session the committee adopted its rules of procedure and the subcommittee membership and jurisdiction by voice vote on an en bloc motion; the chairman asked unanimous consent to allow staff to make technical and conforming edits and that consent was granted.

Discussion in the session mixed substantive policy framing of HUD priorities with committee procedure. Speakers described a national housing shortage and rising prices and rents as part of the substantive justification for Turner's nomination; procedural concerns centered on committee precedent and access to FBI background reports. Warren said the FBI background check had not been provided to her or others, while supporters argued the committee had not uniformly required such reports and that delaying would slow confirmation activity. The committee did not adopt any additional conditions or instructions about receipt of the FBI report before reporting the nomination.

The nomination was advanced to the full Senate for final consideration.