Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Kenny Marchant and Ajay Thomas to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Their new terms will last until January 31, 2031.
Kenny Marchant, from Coppell, previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Texas’ 24th District between 2005 and 2021. Before that, he was in the Texas House of Representatives from 1987 to 2005 and held local office as both a City Councilman and Mayor of Carrollton, Texas. Marchant’s professional background includes work as a real estate developer and homebuilder. He serves on the Southern Nazarene University Board of Trustees and is part of the Former Members of Congress Study Group. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and an honorary doctorate from Southern Nazarene University.
Ajay Thomas, based in Austin, is the senior managing director and head of public finance at FHN Financial, which is part of First Horizon Bank. He sits on the Southwestern University Board of Trustees and advises the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard Kennedy School. Thomas has also served on the board of the Texas Business Leadership Council. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Southwestern University, a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law.
The Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott forms part of the executive branch for state government operations (source). Since his election in 2014 (source), Abbott’s administration has focused on economic development, education improvement, job creation, protection of individual liberties, parental empowerment in schools, border security efforts such as Operation Lone Star, and initiatives addressing child sex trafficking prevention (source). The governor’s office operates out of Austin at the State Insurance Building (source) and delivers services statewide across Texas (source). Under Abbott’s leadership, Texas has led national job growth with record employment levels (source), collaborated with businesses like Southwest Airlines on economic expansion projects (source), and received recognition including Abbott being named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024 (source).
