GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy is calling Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on the carpet for his reported spending spree on office furniture and retaliation against an agency employee, the Washington Examiner reported.
The South Carolina lawmaker, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to Carson in response to a complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel, a federal whistle-blower agency, by HUD employee Helen Foster.
In her complaint, Foster claimed she was booted from her position and then transferred because she refused to find a way to go above the spending cap to redecorate Carson’s office with the purchase of an approximately $31,000 dining-room set late last year, The New York Times first reported.
Gowdy’s letter requests Carson provide all documents and communications pertaining to Foster and the redecoration of Carson’s office, among other items.
The lawmaker wants a response by March 14, followed by a briefing with Carson, the Examiner reported.
Foster said she was instructed to “find money” for redecoration, even though it would go above the budgetary limits of $5,000, the Times reported.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.