Ben Carson Tries to Cancel $31,000 Dining Furniture Purchase for HUD Office
Ben Carson Tries to Cancel $31,000 Dining Furniture Purchase for HUD Office
By GLENN THRUSHMARCH 1, 2018
WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development, is attempting to cancel a $31,000 order for a customized hardwood dining room table, chairs, sideboard
and hutch the day after the chairman of the House Oversight Committee announced an investigation into the refurbishment of his HUD office.
According to Mr. Williams, neither Mr. Carson nor his wife, Candy Carson, had any prior knowledge of the order, although
a whistle-blower has said Mrs. Carson had pressured her to circumvent a $5,000 statutory limit on renovation expenses.
While his intentions are to cancel it, we have to see what happens.”
Representative Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican who is chairman of the Oversight Committee, sent Mr. Carson’s staff a three-page letter on Wednesday demanding an explanation
for the purchase of the dining room set, which might have violated a federal law requiring congressional approval for any office renovation expense exceeding $5,000
“At the request of the secretary, the agency is working to rescind the order for the dining room set,”
Armstrong Williams, Mr. Carson’s business manager and an informal adviser, said on Thursday.
By GLENN THRUSHMARCH 1, 2018
WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development, is attempting to cancel a $31,000 order for a customized hardwood dining room table, chairs, sideboard
and hutch the day after the chairman of the House Oversight Committee announced an investigation into the refurbishment of his HUD office.
According to Mr. Williams, neither Mr. Carson nor his wife, Candy Carson, had any prior knowledge of the order, although
a whistle-blower has said Mrs. Carson had pressured her to circumvent a $5,000 statutory limit on renovation expenses.
While his intentions are to cancel it, we have to see what happens.”
Representative Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican who is chairman of the Oversight Committee, sent Mr. Carson’s staff a three-page letter on Wednesday demanding an explanation
for the purchase of the dining room set, which might have violated a federal law requiring congressional approval for any office renovation expense exceeding $5,000
“At the request of the secretary, the agency is working to rescind the order for the dining room set,”
Armstrong Williams, Mr. Carson’s business manager and an informal adviser, said on Thursday.