Ben Carson's HUD spent $31,000 on dining room furniture for his office

Show Caption Hide Caption HUD spent $31,000 on a new dining set for Ben Carson's office In late 2017, the Department of Housing and Urban Development bought a $31,000 dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson’s Office. Veuer's Natasha Abellard (@NatashaAbellard) has the story.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development spent more than $31,000 on a dining set for Secretary Ben Carson's office, with one official saying she was told that "$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair."

The eye-popping purchase came up on an agency document reviewed by several news outlets, including ABC News, which reported the official said she was demoted for objecting to the outsized spending.

Helen Foster, once HUD's chief administrative officer, said in a complaint to a federal whistleblower agency that she warned colleagues last year about a $5,000 legal limit on furnishing expenses. She was told by HUD's acting head at the time to "find money" for the redecoration, regardless.

Carson's wife, Candy Carson, reportedly requested the redecoration funds, according to the November complaint.

Carson himself doesn't the consider the dining set too expensive and doesn't plan to return it, spokesman Raphael Williams told The New York Times, and he did not know about the purchase of the set's custom hardwood table.

Career staff at the agency purchased the table, chairs and hutch without input from the Carsons, Williams told Politico. The set totaled $31,561.

The purchase came after HUD spent $1,100 trying to repair the former dining set, which first arrived in 1967, according to ABC.

The agency also denied exceeding the $5,000 limit to redecorate Carson's office, per the network. (The furniture went in a dining room adjacent to Carson's office.)

Inside Carson's office, the department spent $3,373 on new blinds, according to receipts the agency gave Politico.

"It's a real shame that an agency that is supposed to be looking after the poorest of the poor are more interested in looking after what their office looks like," Foster told ABC News.

Foster's complaint states she was reassigned to "lesser duties" after questioning both the spending and a budget shortfall, according to the network.

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

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