Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson sent a Democratic member of Congress a package of Oreo cookies after a video from his appearance at a congressional hearing went viral on Tuesday.

Carson was speaking about housing in the United States when Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) quizzed him on a term that Carson misheard.

"I'd also like you to get back to me if you don't mind to explain the disparity in REO rates," said Porter. "Do you know what an REO is?"



"An Oreo?" asked Carson.

"No, not an Oreo. R-E-O," she spelled out. "R-E-O."

She went on to explain that the acronym stood for Real Estate Owned, which refers to properties that have gone through foreclosure.

Liberals pounced on the interaction to accuse Carson, who was formerly a celebrated neurosurgeon, of not being intelligent enough for the position in the Trump administration.

Carson responded to the social media response from his Twitter account, with a photo of the cookies he was sending to Porter.

"Thanks for your part in today's heating," the note from Carson read. "Hope you lie these O'REO(S)."

Carson announced in March that he would resign from the Trump administration after the 2020 election.



Here's the video of Carson's gaffe: