Ben Carson caught lying about $31,000 dining set he made taxpayers buy him

Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson has given his expensive furniture scandal new life by being caught lying about it.

When news first broke that taxpayers had shelled out $31,000 for a dining room set, Carson said, through a spokesperson, that he had been unaware of the purchase. He also said he intended to keep the pricey furnishings at the time, but subsequently canceled the order when the story blew up.

According to emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, though, the furniture was personally selected by Ben Carson’s wife, Candy. One email shows a HUD staffer setting up an appointment with Mrs. Carson to meet with a designer, and another references “the furniture the Secretary and Mrs. Carson picked out.”

Carson was also sent a price quote for the furniture in yet another email.

This is just the latest in a series of scandals involving Trump Cabinet officials and wasteful luxury spending. Then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign over his private jet travel, while Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt have all faced travel scandals of their own. Pruitt is also under scrutiny for a $25,000 soundproof booth that has turned out to cost $43,000.

Carson’s flare-up also comes on the heels of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ very public embarrassment during some disastrous interviews earlier this week.

With Trump in a firing mood after ousting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson via a tweet, Carson is just one in a long line of administration officials who could be the next to be swept away in the chaos.