Rep. Jennifer Wexton said Carson's testimony was both 'deceitful' and 'inept.'
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) says that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson lied during his testimony before a House committee on Tuesday — and now she's calling on him to resign.
"Secretary Carson lied to me and to Congress," Wexton said on Thursday. "As a former prosecutor, I take Congressional testimony very seriously." Wexton called Carson both "deceitful" and "inept" before stating flatly, "He should resign."
Wexton says Carson lied to her during testimony before the House Financial Services Committee about a new rule HUD announced that would allow bigots to discriminate against homeless people who are transgender. Under oath the day before, Carson said he did not anticipate any changes to the policy, known as the Equal Access Rule.
"I'm not currently anticipating changing the rule," Carson told Wexton.
Yet the very next day, HUD released the a comprehensive overhaul of the rule, dismantling the protections put into place by President Obama in 2012.
"Rescinding this rule is a shameful decision that will result in trans shelter-seekers being forced on the streets," Julian Castro, who implemented the Equal Access Rule as HUD secretary under President Obama, said on Wednesday.
In her statement, Wexton said Carson didn't just lie during the hearing — he also "lied again when he called me to 'clarify' his testimony."
In addition to calling on Carson to resign, Wexton introduced legislation to prevent HUD's rule change from taking place.
"This is a cruel attack on a vulnerable population," Wexton said in a Thursday statement. "Barring a community already subject to alarmingly high levels of violence and abuse from access to life-saving shelter is dangerous. This administration’s relentless assault on the rights of LGBTQ Americans cannot continue."
Carson's testimony on Tuesday was a disaster for a variety of reasons. He defended a plan to leave 55,000 children homeless, and later confused a common real estate term with Oreo cookies.
Those two incidents showed cruelty and ignorance, but lying to Congress is a criminal matter. Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in part because he lied to Congress.
When government officials testify before Congress, both lawmakers and the American public deserve the truth — but Trump's team won't give it to them.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
