Well, well, well—nothing says “fiscal responsibility” like spending $4.6 billion on desks, couches, and abstract art while half your workforce is logging in from their kitchen counters in sweatpants. Welcome to the luxurious reality of your federal government in the Zoom era, where empty cubicles apparently still need $1,200 Herman Miller chairs… in Mozambique.
Let’s set the stage. Since fiscal year 2021, while inflation was gut-punching American families and small businesses were closing their doors, executive agencies were out here playing HGTV with taxpayer money. The Department of Government Efficiency (a name that’s got to be some kind of inside joke at this point) helped uncover the spending spree, and what they found would make Marie Antoinette blush.
John Hart, CEO of OpenTheBooks, laid it all out during recent testimony, and let’s just say, it reads more like a Pottery Barn fantasy catalog than a government budget. $4.6 billion in furniture? That’s not “just buying desks and chairs”—that’s redecorating the entire bureaucratic complex while the rest of America foots the bill.
Hart pointed out that this spending could have bought every single one of 9.2 million American families a decent $500 kitchen table. Instead, that money went to things like $120,000 worth of Ethan Allen chairs… in our embassy in Islamabad. Because when you’re conducting diplomacy, you obviously need to recline in handcrafted American luxury.
Hart stated, “Since fiscal year 2021, executive agencies have spent more than $4.6 billion on furniture alone. That amount could buy 9.2 million American families a modest $500 kitchen table.”
“Our embassy in Islamabad is a place where you can put your feet up thanks to 40 Ethan Allen chairs, which cost taxpayers $120,000,” He continued.
And the cherry on top? A casual $1.4 million spent by the State Department on art to hang in embassies—$200,000 of which went to just two paintings by abstract artist Alfred Jensen. Because nothing says “representing America” like confusing modern art that looks like it was painted during a blindfolded trust exercise.
But perhaps the most insulting part of all this is the timing. This extravagant splurge came while federal buildings across the country were more vacant than Biden’s campaign rallies. According to the Office of Management and Budget, more than half of federal employees were working remotely—some full-time, others hybrid.
So not only are you paying for luxury furniture, you’re paying to not sit in it. The Government Accountability Office backed this up in a 2023 report showing that a majority of agencies were using less than 25% of their office space. Twenty-five percent! That’s like buying a mansion and living in the garage.
But don’t worry, it gets better—or worse, depending on your blood pressure. USAID decided to drop $4 million on furniture for offices in Ukraine, West Africa, and Mozambique. Not relief funds. Not critical infrastructure. Not food. Furniture. Including a solid quarter-million just for chairs in Mozambique.
I mean, if we’re going to outsource American dollars to far-flung government outposts, we might as well make sure they’re relaxing in ergonomic luxury while Americans back home are trying to stretch grocery budgets and wondering when the IRS will show up with another audit.
🚨Feds forked over $4.6B for new furniture since 2020 — despite just half of employees showing up for work: watchdoghttps://t.co/3Zk7ZqKkf5
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 9, 2025
What this all proves, once again, is that the federal government treats your money like Monopoly cash. No oversight, no accountability, and apparently no understanding of optics. But hey, as long as the embassies look good on Instagram and the bureaucrats have something plush to sit on when they occasionally drop by the office, who cares if Main Street America is stuck holding the receipt?
This is what happens when an ever-expanding administrative state thinks it’s above the people funding it. It’s not just tone-deaf—it’s symptomatic of the larger rot that comes from power with no consequence. Maybe next time, instead of furnishing palaces abroad, they could try fixing a few potholes or not blowing billions on office furniture that no one’s around to use. Just a thought.
