WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Subcommittee, today issued the following statement after CNN reported that “newly released emails cast doubt on claims by Secretary Ben Carson and his spokesman that he had little or no involvement in the purchase of a $31,000 furniture set for his Department of Housing and Urban Development dining room” and that “Emails show Carson and his wife selected the furniture themselves”:

“Dr. Carson is a brilliant neurosurgeon, but he has not been an effective HUD Secretary.  He seems to want to cut HUD funding for virtually every program except his own office redecoration budget. 

“It is difficult to understand how Secretary Carson and his family members could justify lavishly spending $31,000 of taxpayer money on a brand new table for his executive dining room while slashing funds for hard-working families struggling to find affordable housing, or on the verge of homelessness.  And he still needs to be more forthcoming about this issue.  But the problems at HUD run much deeper than questionable expenditures on furniture.

“When it comes to being a cabinet secretary, ethics matter.  Knowledge, experience, and a real understanding of policy issues matter.  And being a competent manager matters. 

“Too many members of the Trump Administration seem to think the rules don’t apply to them, or they try to circumvent them altogether. 

“HUD has an essential mission to help uplift people and communities, and Dr. Carson’s mismanagement of the agency is leading it in the wrong direction.”