With a new Republican administration in the White House, Jackson was a likely contender for a federal appointment, especially since he had known George W. Bush, the Texas governor declared the winner of the 2000 presidential election, since 1989, when both lived in the same Dallas neighborhood.
In early 2001 Jackson's name was approved by Congress to serve as the deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a post that essentially made him second-in-command and chief operating officer of the cabinet department, working under HUD Secretary Mel Martinez.

Jackson succeeded Martinez as Secretary in March 2004, and served until resigning in March 2008.
 Jackson resigned over allegations of unethical conduct in the awarding of HUD contracts.

After Jackson's public service in Washington, DC as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he was the Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Center for Public Policy and Leadership at Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia from 2008–2012.
Hampton University's Center for Public Policy focuses on making its university research relevant to real-world problems.
No other Historically Black University houses such a center.
With a new Republican administration in the White House, Jackson was a likely contender for a federal appointment, especially since he had known George W. Bush, the Texas governor declared the winner of the 2000 presidential election, since 1989, when both lived in the same Dallas neighborhood. In early 2001 Jackson's name was approved by Congress to serve as the deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a post that essentially made him second-in-command and chief operating officer of the cabinet department, working under HUD Secretary Mel Martinez.
Jackson succeeded Martinez as Secretary in March 2004, and served until resigning in March 2008.  Jackson resigned over allegations of unethical conduct in the awarding of HUD contracts.
After Jackson's public service in Washington, DC as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he was the Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Center for Public Policy and Leadership at Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia from 2008–2012. Hampton University's Center for Public Policy focuses on making its university research relevant to real-world problems. No other Historically Black University houses such a center.
Alphonso Jackson