Ben Carson told a House committee hearing on Tuesday that the infamous decision to purchase a $31,000 mahogany dining-room set for his government office was made by his wife Candy and senior staffers. The retired neurosurgeon-turned-HUD secretary testified that his office exceeded the $5,000 federal spending limit to purchase the table out of a concern for safety. “If it were up to me I would decorate my office like a hospital waiting room,” Carson explained. “People were stuck by nails, and a chair had collapsed with someone sitting in it.” This comes as emails were released showing that Carson and his wife were personally involved in the selection of the furniture after the agency repeatedly denied that Carson had anything to do with the choosing of the dining set.
.@secretarycarson on $31,000 table: "I said, 'what the heck is that all about?'"
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 20, 2018
Full video here: https://t.co/F1yQX0ZobK pic.twitter.com/gLkcovdF8z