Ben Carson sends Oreos to Democrat who quizzed him on REOs

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson sent Oreos on Tuesday to the Democrat who quizzed him during a hearing about REO — or real estate-owned — foreclosures.

“OH, REO! Thanks, @RepKatiePorter,” Carson tweeted. 

“Enjoying a few post-hearing snacks. Sending some your way!”

OH, REO! Thanks, @RepKatiePorter. Enjoying a few post-hearing snacks. Sending some your way! pic.twitter.com/q4MMTBWVUI

— Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) May 21, 2019 

Carson seemed to not know what an REO foreclosure was during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.

{mosads}Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) asked Carson about the housing term, and he seemed to confuse it with Oreos, the popular chocolate cookies filled with vanilla cream.

Porter responded by clarifying what she said and explaining what an REO is to Carson.  

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

REO was not the only acronym that tripped Carson up during the hearing.

He also seemed confused when Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) asked the HUD secretary if he was familiar with the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI). 

Carson appeared confused by Beatty’s line of questioning and told her he would follow up with a note identifying the director of the office. But as Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) noted when he spoke at the hearing, Carson’s office does not contain OMWI. 

“I just want to point out the reason why you wouldn’t recognize the term OMWI in HUD is that HUD doesn’t have OMWI,” Zeldin said.

HUD does have an Office of Diversity and Inclusion.