Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson had a rough day on Capitol Hill. He was appearing before the Financial Services Committee and it seemed he stumbled through several questions from Congresswomen on the committee. He didn’t seem to understand how the questioning process worked or many of the questions themselves. He also didn’t seem to take the subject matter seriously. One example came during this exchange with Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s (D-MA). He chuckled and refused to answer as she asked about HUD’s proposed budget might displace families in need.
CLIP: Complete exchange between Rep. Pressley and Secretary Carson.@SecretaryCarson: "Reclaiming my time."@RepPressley: "You don't get to do that."
Carson: "Oh."@RepMaxineWaters: "The time belongs to the gentle lady." pic.twitter.com/HFlS749tji
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 21, 2019
And Carson didn’t seem concerned with the plight of homeless children either.
.@RepSylviaGarcia: “So you’re going to shift 55k children from being w/their families to a homeless status. What’s going to happen to these children? Have you thought this through?”
BEN CARSON: “Well, maybe what will happen is you & Congress will do your job & solve the problem” pic.twitter.com/6MMfq5fuEY
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2019
In another exchange with Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), it was clear that Carson didn’t know a common real estate term she was referring to. Instead, he claimed the Congresswoman was “getting into the weeds” with her questions (watch the full exchange above).
I asked @SecretaryCarson about REOs – a basic term related to foreclosure – at a hearing today. He thought I was referring to a chocolate sandwich cookie. No, really. pic.twitter.com/cYekJAkRag
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) May 21, 2019
Carson later joked about it on Twitter.
OH, REO! Thanks, @RepKatiePorter. Enjoying a few post-hearing snacks. Sending some your way! pic.twitter.com/q4MMTBWVUI
— Archive: Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) May 21, 2019
REO wasn’t the only term he wasn’t familiar with. He also drew a blank when Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) asked him about OMWI (the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion).
.@RepBeatty "Are you familiar with OMWI and what it is?"@SecretaryCarson: "With who?"
Beatty: "OMWI?"
Carson: "Amway?" pic.twitter.com/5Jqf1sy72t
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 21, 2019
Conservative political analyst Ana Navarro-Cardenas remarked, “Betsy Devos has stiff competition from Ben Carson for ‘The Most Ignorant Congressional Testimony by a Cabinet Member Award’”.
It is telling that Ben Carson defaulted to “Oreo,” but I digress. What matters, though, is that his ignorance only makes his policy choices all the more terrifying. Then he jokes about it. From “Gifted Hands” to celebrating his own stupidity. https://t.co/n7sAKrAxZg
— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) May 21, 2019