The Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, was stunned in her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee at the request of Representative Katie Porter, D-Calif ., About foreclosure rates for real estate owned by OERs. Carson did not seem to know the term, confusing it with Oreo cookies.
In another controversial exchange with Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Carson was again questioned about the Office for the Inclusion of Women and Minorities and, once again, he went blank.
Representative Lee Zeldin, RN, defended Carson, calling the Beatty issue "unfair". Zeldin noted that the HUD did not have a "minority and women's bureau" under this name. The office that performs this function in the HUD called the "Office of Diversity and Inclusion," but Carson did not seem very clear about that as well.
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HUD Secretary Ben Carson testifies at House Subcommittee Subcommittee hearing
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UNITED STATES – MARCH 22: HUD Secretary Ben Carson testifies at a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee in Dirksen on the oversight of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development on March 22, 2018. ( Picture of Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call)
USA – MARCH 22: Senator Sherrod Brown, Member of the Rank, on the right, and President Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, lead a Senate Committee on Banking and Banking Hearings at Dirksen Building on the oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with the testimony of Secretary Ben Carson on March 22, 2018. (Photo by Tom Williams / Roll call)
Ben Carson, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), speaks at a hearing of the House Credit Subcommittee in Washington, DC, United States on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. The order of a $ 31,000 dining room table for Carson's office and the House Subcommittee's House Credit Subcommittee on the draft budget of the House of Commons. HUD 2019 already dealt with allegations of retaliation against an official who had objected to the purchase because he was exceeding the $ 5,000 limit. Photographer: Eric Thayer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), listens on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 during a sub-committee hearing of the House of Representatives' House of Commons in Washington, United States. Ordering a dining room table of $ 31,000 retaliation against an official who objected to the purchase because it exceeded the limit of $ 5,000 already constitute the # 39; House of Commons sub-committee hearings on the draft budget for the 2011 HUD fiscal year. Photographer: Eric Thayer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 20: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson takes notes in testimony before the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies on Capitol Hill on June 20 March 2018 in Washington, DC. Secretary Carson has drawn the attention of lawmakers on the purchase of furniture for his office set despite budget cuts. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images)
Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), speaks at a House Credit Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, United States, on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. order of a $ 31,000 dining room table for Carson's office and allegations of retaliation against a public servant who objected to the purchase because it exceeded the $ 5,000 limit already constitute the subject of the House Subcommittee's House Subcommittee hearings on the draft budget for the HUD 2011 fiscal year. Photographer: Eric Thayer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 20: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson arrives to testify before the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies at Capitol Hill on March 20, 2018 in Washington. , DC. Secretary Carson has drawn the attention of lawmakers on the purchase of furniture for his office set despite budget cuts. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 20: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson arrives to testify before the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies at Capitol Hill on March 20, 2018 in Washington. , DC. Secretary Carson has drawn the attention of lawmakers on the purchase of furniture for his office set despite budget cuts. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images)
US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, testifies before a hearing of the Senate Committee on Banks and Banks titled "HUD Supervision" at Capitol Hill, Washington, USA, on March 22, 2018. REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque
US Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is waiting to testify before the Subcommittee on Transport, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies on the Housing Department's budget request for the 2019 financial year. and Capitol Hill Urban Development in Washington, USA, March 20, 2018 REUTERS / Joshua Roberts
US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson arrives to testify before the Subcommittee on Transport, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies on the budget request for the 2019 Fiscal Year. Housing and Urban Development Department of Capitol Hill, Washington, USA, March 20, 2018 REUTERS / Joshua Roberts
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From the beginning of Tuesday's hearing, Carson has clashed with Democratic lawmakers. Citing delays in disaster relief in Puerto Rico, President Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Said her department "is actively hurting" the people it is supposed to help.
The most heated exchange of the day, however, took place with Massachusetts Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley, who insisted that housing conditions were unsatisfactory for Carson, and the exchange gave rise to another hot moment after that Carson refused to answer the questions "yes" or "no".
Later in the day on Tuesday, Carson responded to the Oreo controversy by sending a letter on Twitter to Porter.
