Rep. Aaron Schock brushes off criticism of his new office, says 'haters gonna hate'
Rep. Aaron Schock doesn't think his colorful new office decor should come as a surprise to anyone, as he's "never been an old crusty white guy."
The Illinois Republican ditched his navy walls for red, and added black candles, gold-framed paintings, and a chandelier for a look that a staffer told The Washington Post was based on the dining room in Downton Abbey (a show Schock told ABC News he's never even watched). He is defensive of his office's new look, and explained that he's "different" from the typical congressman. "I came to Congress at 27," the 33-year-old said. "When I go take a personal vacation I don't sit on the beach, I go do active things. And so, I'm also not going to live in a cave. So when I post an Instagram photo with me and my friends, as Taylor Swift said, 'haters gonna hate.'"
The investigators are also gonna investigate, as the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics on Tuesday, requesting that they look into Schock allegedly accepting free services from an interior decorator and paying for new furniture with campaign funds. Schock said that once the designer is finished with the office, he will receive an invoice and pay.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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