See The Staggering Amount of Money Feds Blew On Office Furniture — Since 2020

The federal government has reportedly shelled out $4.6 billion for new furniture since 2020 — during a time when only about half of all federal employees were even showing up to work in person.

The Republicans on the House Oversight Committee shared a report from the New York Post detailing the recent testimony of OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart.

????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

Hart shared the findings reported through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project, saying, “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.”

“And of course, workplaces need desks, chairs and meeting tables, and it’s true that beautiful spaces can make us more productive, but beauty at what cost and on whose dime?” Hart said, arguing that at the reported costs, the government had been effectively “decorating and redecorating the administrative state.”

Hart also noted in his opening statement that the State Department had forked more than “$1.4 million on art and drawings to fill the walls of its embassies worldwide — including $200,000 for just two paintings by the modern abstract painter Alfred Jensen.”

“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 added.

As the New York Post detailed, among the extravagant expenditures was “$4 million for furniture and cubicles in US Agency for International Development (USAID) offices in Ukraine, West Africa and Mozambique — the last of which filled spaces with $250,000 worth of Herman Miller chairs.”

All of these expenditures came during a period of time when, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), more than half of all government employees were choosing to work remotely, either part-time or full-time, rather than physically reporting to work.

In addition, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in 2023 that out of 24 agencies, 17 had reported gross underuse — less than 25% — of their facilities.