BEN CARSON/ETHICS/HUD: “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…
On Tuesday, Raffi Williams, a department spokesman said Mr. Carson had no problem with the order and no intention of returning the table. But early Thursday, Mr. Williams said the secretary, who was sharply criticized for the purchase at a time when his agency is facing $6.8 billion in budget cuts requested by the White House, seemed to change his mind…
But several department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said it would have been highly unusual for Mr. Carson not to have been told that a significant section of his office suite was about to be upgraded…
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.”
-Glenn Thrush, “Ben Carson Tries to Cancel $31,000 Dining Furniture Purchase for HUD Office,” The New York Times online, Mar. 1, 2018