Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said Thursday that President Donald Trump is "laser focused" on making housing more affordable, pointing to new executive actions and the administration's expanded opportunity zones as key pillars of the White House's strategy to boost homeownership.

Speaking on Newsmax's “National Report,” Turner said the administration is pursuing an America First agenda aimed at lowering costs, increasing housing supply and helping more families achieve the American dream of owning a home.

"President Trump is laser focused on housing affordability," he said. "Opportunity Zones have been one of the most transformational policies in our country's history."

Turner said the recently enacted Working Families tax cut made opportunity zones permanent, allowing governors, territorial leaders and tribal governments to continue designating eligible census tracts for long-term investment and redevelopment.

He said the original program produced measurable results, including lifting "1 million people out of poverty," creating "400,000 units of new housing," generating "500,000 jobs," and attracting "over $100 billion of investment, private investment, into distressed communities across our country – urban, tribal and rural."

Turner also highlighted two executive orders signed by Trump that he said are designed to expand access to homeownership. One seeks "to reduce the barriers to building affordable housing," while the other aims "to increase mortgage credit."

"The president is focused on this," he said. "Myself, and other leaders, we want more Americans to be able to achieve the American dream of home ownership."

Asked about progressive claims that the American dream is slipping out of reach for younger generations, Turner firmly rejected that argument.

"I say that's nonsense," he said, noting that HUD helped more than 1.5 million people purchase homes through the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage program, with "80% of those" being first-time buyers.

"The problem is, the mainstream media doesn't want to tell the people of America the good news," Turner said. "Under President Trump, we're executing these policies with an America First agenda for the American people."

The HUD secretary added that the administration is also giving states and local governments greater flexibility by rescinding a Biden-era housing rule that he said burdened communities with bureaucracy without increasing housing construction.

"We … restored flexibility back to the localities because they know their unique needs better than bureaucrats in Washington," Turner said. "Just a few weeks ago, we published our regulatory best practices report, which is a culmination of things we've learned around the country … to ease the regulatory environment, to make it better for builders to build, the developers to develop, unleash creativity and ingenuity so home buyers can be homeowners in our country.”

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