HUD Spent $31,000 on a Dining Set for Carson's Office

Ben Carson said he “wasn’t happy” with a suggested budget cut of $6 billion to the Housing and Urban Development Department he leads. President Donald Trump’s latest budget proposal would increase the cut to $6.8 billion, or 14 percent of the agency’s budget. But that didn’t stop Carson’s office from splashing funds on luxury goods.

HUD, arguably the federal agency most central to fighting American poverty, has spent $165,000 on lounge furniture for its Washington headquarters, and $31,000 on a dining set in Carson’s office. The set reportedly consists of a table, chairs and a cupboard.

For context, $31,000 is thousands more than what some of Carson’s constituents make in a year; $24,600 is the maximum that a family of four can earn and qualify as “extremely low income” when being assessed for HUD support in poverty-plagued Detroit, where Carson is from. HUD helps subsidize housing for the poor, elderly, and disabled.

A senior official at HUD has alleged she was demoted for refusing to spend above legal limits for Carson’s office redecoration. Helen Foster says she was told “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair” when she explained that it was the legal maximum the agency could spend on touching up Carson’s office suite, according to the Guardian.