Interior Department boss reportedly spent $222G on bathroom upgrade
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It's a bathroom fit for a king -- or, rather, a Cabinet secretary.
The Interior Department, according to a new report, spent $222,000 renovating a 100-square-foot bathroom in the private office of the secretary. That's more than most people spend on a home -- and the price tag attracted an internal audit.
According to documents obtained by the Cox Washington bureau, government auditors questioned the "luxurious materials" used in the 2007 renovation.
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Those materials included: $1,500 worth of wall panels; $26,000 worth of custom cabinets; and a fridge that cost $3,500.
The pricey upgrades were made under former Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, apparently undertaken because of water leaks.
But even in 2007, the U.S. government was deep in debt and running year-after-year deficits, raising questions about why the government approved the project.
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The General Services Administration, which oversees federal government property, told Cox that more oversight is now in place to prevent over-the-top renovations.