At the first cabinet meeting of President Trump’s second term, the assembly of powerful political leaders bowed their heads after the President asked HUD Secretary Scott Turner to start the meeting with prayer.
“Father, we thank You for this awesome privilege to be in Your presence,” Turner began. “God, thank You that you’ve allowed us to see this day. The Bible says that Your mercies are new every morning.”
Turner, a former Texas state legislator, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Feb. 5 to be Trump's secretary for U.S. Housing and Urban Development. The stated mission of the federal agency is to protect and improve housing and home ownership. Helping with low-income housing for the poor and the elderly is a large part of its $72 billion budget.
Before being nominated by Trump, Turner was an associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church, located in Plano, Texas.
Turner, who is also a former NFL player, served during Trump’s first term as executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
Turner’s prayer was heard by a room of powerful people, beginning with President Trump himself, and also by billionaire Elon Musk. The world’s richest man, who has described himself as non-religious but not a hardened atheist, listened a few feet away while Turner talked to God.
“Father God, as they lead, I pray for all my colleagues that are here around the table and in this room. Lord God, I pray that we would lead with a righteous clarity,” Turner prayed.
Asked his reaction to Turner's prayer, Owen Strachan of the Dobson Culture Center said the HUD boss delivered a "powerful prayer" that honored the Lord.
"He did not fawn over any official in the room. Nor did he bend the Bible to partisan aims," Strachan said. "Instead, he articulated a vision of government leaders as servants, and asked for God's blessing on the momentous tasks ahead."
The new HUD secretary prayed while standing over President Trump’s left shoulder, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seated below him. At his tense Senate confirmation hearing, Hegseth was reminded by Democrats of past sexual assault allegations, and reports of drug and alcohol abuse, in his past.
"All glory, regardless of the outcome, belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Hegseth told senators. “His grace and mercy abounds each day. May His will be done.”
Seated on the other side of President Trump was Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The former Florida senator is known for his Christian faith, too. In a 2023 speech, he told Liberty University students the sinful nature of mankind makes us more hateful, and only the power of Jesus can break through that sinfulness.
