Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson should probably send Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke some nice flowers and a note, thanking his fellow Cabinet member for taking the decorating heat off of him.
Records posted online show that the Interior Department is spending $139,000 for new doors for Zinke's office suite, Politico reports — much more than the $31,000 HUD coughed up for a dining set for Carson's office (the order has since been cancelled). Spokeswoman Heather Swift said the department's facilities and security officials recommended the new doors, and Zinke "was not aware of this contract but agrees that this is a lot of money for demo, install, materials, and labor." The $139,000 will be used to replace three sets of double doors, The Associated Press reports, including one that needs a lock.
Swift said the entire building is being modernized, and "between regulations that require historic preservation and outdated government procurement rules, the costs for everything from pencils to printing to doors is astronomical."
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