Ben Carson's $31K Dining Set: 'I Left It To My Wife'

WASHINGTON, DC — While retired Baltimore neurosurgeon Ben Carson now oversees trillions of dollars in mortgages as the secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it's a smaller amount of money that has dogged Carson for nearly a month. On Tuesday the secretary was grilled by members of Congress over a $31,000 dining set ordered for his office — and he seems to have thrown his wife under the bus for that gaffe.

His wife, Candy, and senior staffers, were the ones who ordered the pricey table that sparked outrage, Carson told members of a House committee. He testified that his office exceeded the $5,000 federal spending limit to purchase the table out of a concern for safety to replace 50-year-old furniture. “If it were up to me I would decorate my office like a hospital waiting room,” Carson said. “People were stuck by nails, and a chair had collapsed with someone sitting in it.”

HUD spokesman Raffi Williams said March 1 that, at Carson's request, "the agency is working to rescind the order for the dining room set."

HUD officials initially said the purchase was made without Carson's knowledge. The agency says the dining set was considered a "building expense" and that Carson bought only blinds for his office, which cost less than $5,000. But emails released after a Freedom of Information request contradict that assertion. CNN reports that emails dating back to May show Carson and his wife shared preferences on the office refurbishing.

When questioned Tuesday about the discrepancy between his past comments and the internal emails, Carson replied, "I left it to my wife."

Once he heard the amount, Carson said he had the purchase canceled because of its excessive cost. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

HUD oversees most of the nation's affordable housing programs and also manages $1.6 trillion in mortgage funds. The agency plays a role in education, transportation and community development across the U.S.His federal agency has a $47 billion budget.

Reports of the dining set's purchase came on the heels of a complaint filed by HUD's former chief administrative officer alleging that she was demoted after she refused to bankroll a costly remodeling of Carson's office.

According to The Baltimore Sun, both Maryland Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin opposed the confirmation of Carson.

Carson, a former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, retired in 2013 after serving as director of pediatric neurosurgery at the hospital. He was the first surgeon to separate twins conjoined by the head and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 for his contributions to the profession.

He holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.

PHOTO: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson arrives to testify before the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies on Capitol Hill March 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. Secretary Carson has drawn fire from lawmakers for purchasing furniture for his office suite despite agency cutbacks. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)