A former CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, Jackson has come under fire for politicizing the contract process at HUD; last year, for instance, it was widely reported that at a private speech he told of canceling a contract with someone who did not support the Bush Administration. Jackson apologized for and then retracted the comments as untrue. However the incident set off an internal investigation that expanded to include involvement from the Senate and the Justice Department.

During his tenure at HUD, Jackson has also helped the Bush Administration develop a new arsenal of tools to defuse the housing crisis after the subprime mortgage debacle. These have included the creation of FHASecure, which Jackson implemented in Sept. 2007 and helped more than 130,000 families refinance their exotic subprime loans. Jackson also led the Administration's efforts on Capitol Hill to further modernize the FHA. He helped assemble a private-sector group called the HOPE NOW Alliance.

Other achievements by HUD under Jackson's reign include a 150% increase in funding for housing counseling since 2001 for HUD's 2,300 approved counseling agencies and the allocation of $20 billion in federal funds to help rebuild the Gulf Coast.