Ben Carson office furnishing scandal

On February 27, 2018, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had spent $31,561 on a set of dining room furniture for the office of HUD secretary Ben Carson in late 2017, in apparent violation of federal law requiring Congressional approval for department head office redecoration costs exceeding $5,000.

[7] The custom-made furniture, ordered on December 21 from Sebree and Associates based in Carson's hometown of Baltimore,[8] included a mahogany table, ten chairs with velvet upholstery, a sideboard, and a hutch.

"[2] Williams claimed that Congressional approval was not sought for the purchase because it addressed a "building-wide need", though the dining set would be located in Carson's personal suite.

[3] HUD announced on March 15 that its chief financial officer Irving Dennis would lead a task force to combat "waste, fraud and abuse" at the agency.

[13] On March 19, Carson testified before the House Appropriations Committee, claiming that he left the purchasing decision to his wife, and that they expressed concerns to staff over the cost.

Congressman David Price, Democrat from North Carolina and ranking member of the committee, called the purchase one of several "major ethical lapses" at HUD, citing "failure to control funds and provide legally required notifications to Congress", "apparently false public statements that intended to obscure the truth about the secretary's involvement", and "the reassignment of the whistleblower who brought these problems to the public's attention.

[19] The Baltimore Sun called the scandal part of a pattern in which Trump administration officials "shamelessly gamed the system for their personal benefit".

Trevor Noah of The Daily Show said that valuing a good chair at $5,000 would make Carson "the worst Price Is Right contestant", and suggested the department use the money to build low-income housing instead, in accordance with its mission.