Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson took to Fox Business on Wednesday to explain why he thought he was being asked about Oreos by Rep. Katie Porter during an appearance Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee.
The California Democrat asked Carson to explain the disparity in REO rates, to which Carson responded, "An Oreo?"
"No, not an Oreo. An R-E-O. REO," Porter replied.
Carson then said, "Real estate," at which point Porter quizzed: "What's the O stand for?"
Carson replied, "Organization."
"Owned, real estate owned," quipped Porter. "That's what happens when a property goes to foreclosure, we call it an REO."
"You can see that some of the networks are only interested in those kinds of sound bites that they can use to ridicule," Carson said on Fox Business. "The fact of the matter is I was having difficulty hearing her."
The secretary also invited Porter to visit his office to discuss a dramatic decrease in the REO portfolio – from "65 thousand down to 65 hundred," saying perhaps the representative needed to be brought up to date.
"So, I suspect when Katie Porter was an expert in this area things were very different, that's why I invited her to speak with our staff that deals with these so they can bring her up to date — maybe she would then be able to understand what's going on," Carson said.
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