I know, small potatoes when compared to all the waste in D.C., but still annoying.
Biden’s Director of National Intelligence Dropped $12K on Custom ‘Executive’ Chairs
Avril Haines's office also spent $3K on new art for office, documents show
Patrick Hauf • January 20, 2022 5:00 am
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) spent an exorbitant amount of taxpayer money on "executive furniture" for agency head Avril Haines, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Weeks after Haines was confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, her office spent $12,134 on four office chairs, according to a government procurement order obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. An ODNI employee asked in the order for "appropriate executive furniture that meets the level of the position in which they are charged with." ODNI said it needed the chairs by April 1, 2021.
The procurement order shows that Haines's office ordered versions of furniture company Haworth's Zody chair, which is customizable and can sell for a wide range of prices depending on the selected configuration. According to the document, each of the chairs cost $2,759 before delivery and labor fees, which brought the total to $3,033 per chair.
It is unclear how exactly Haines’s office purchased a chair that expensive. Using Haworth's 2021 price list, it is possible to customize a chair that costs up to $3,000 by adding on a variety of features including lumbar adjustments, a "PAL back system," 4D arms, and an "upholstered back jacket." ODNI did not respond to requests for comment on the chairs' specifications.
Haines is the latest government official to drop taxpayer dollars on swanky goods. The Free Beacon reported in October that Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spent nearly $2,000 on an uninspiring set of drapes. Under former president Barack Obama, the State Department spent $52,000 on curtains for the Manhattan residence of the ambassador to the United Nations. The New York Times in 2017 slammed then-secretary of housing and urban development Ben Carson's office for purchasing a $31,000 dining room set. ...
The most expensive office chair available from office furniture giant Staples costs less than $1,000.
It is unclear whether Haines, a 52-year-old woman with no documented back problems, was directly involved in the orders, as all names on the documents are redacted. It is also unclear how much spinal damage has been done to ODNI employees forced to sit in non-executive office chairs. ...
Washington Free Beacon
