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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn Kelly said $31,000 isnt all that much for a table if you think about it, according to report
President Donald Trumps chief of staff, General John Kelly, reportedly defended an extravagant expense made by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson.
Carson recently directed HUD to use some of the agencys funds to purchase a $31,000 dining set for a rarely-used formal space in his office. As Axios Jonathan Swan reported following an off-the-record session with reporters:
Kelly said $31,000 sounds like a lot of money, but to put it in context he asked a reporter how much they think the chair theyre sitting on costs. Kelly said its probably worth hundreds of dollars but it will last a long time. He rationalized Carsons $31,000 outlay by saying the table could last for 80 or 100 years.
When asked if there were any plans to fire Carson, Kelly remarked that he takes these kinds of decisions seriously. Reporters meeting with Kelly were left with the impression that Carson would not be fired. Kelly himself is reportedly on the way out, according to some White House sources.
When news of the expensive dining set first broke, both Carson and his wife Candy denied having any involvement in choosing the table and claimed they were surprised to learn of its cost. Newly released emails first reported by CNN, however, show the Carsons actually selected the furniture themselves.
https://thinkprogress.org/john-kelly-defends-extravagant-table-680d4d1ccd95/
dchill
(38,492 posts)Dick.
Wounded Bear
(58,654 posts)what do you expect? That spy shit ain't cheap.
lastlib
(23,233 posts)Pay it back, Benny. You're rich.