ALEXANDRIA, Va.–If you’ve always dreamed of having office furniture that once belonged to an NCUA board member—especially furniture that was the subject of some controversy—you have until Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET to get in your bid.
NCUA has put up for auction the furniture that formerly filled the office of one-time NCUA board member and Chairman J. Mark McWatters.
Former NCUA chairman and current Board Member Rodney Hood took to Twitter to announce the sale and also criticize the purchase of the furniture by McWatters, which he said cost $21,000 at the time it was acquired for his office.
In all, nine items, all from Thomas Moser Cabinet Makers, are up for auction, including:
- One high-standing desk
- One 84-inch long table
- One lolling coffee table
- Six Rockport dining chairs.
Hood Tweets Message
“Delighted @TheNCUA is auctioning Mark McWatters’s $21k furniture. Furniture this expensive is illegal to purchase at other federal agencies. Credit unions deserve better stewardship of agency resources.”
While both McWatters and Hood were Republican appointees, they often disagreed on issues and McWatters declined to support a number of proposals put forth by Hood when Hood was chair.
McWatters, who was named acting chairman by President Trump in January of 2017, was the subject of some controversy in 2018 when it was reported he planned to run NCUA as chairman from his home in Dallas rather than from the agency’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va. McWatters did travel to NCUA for monthly board meetings.
In the pre-pandemic days working from home was considered highly unusual, with one person with a nonpartisan watchdog group telling the Washington Post, “It’s unprecedented and incredibly troubling. How can he lead a federal agency from his house?”
Expenses Flagged
The same Washington Post report also noted the $21,000 furniture purchase, even though it was “rarely used,” and further noted other agencies must notify Congress of any purchase of more than $5,000.
NCUA’s Office of Inspector General also flagged expenses by McWatters that included $11,000 plane tickets, a $450 dinner, and an UberBlack ride of $250 to go from Washington, D.C., across the Potomac to Alexandria, Va. The expenses also drew national media attention.
Act Now
According to the posting on the government website GSA Auctions, all inspections and removal must be scheduled 48 hours in advance, and no one at the agency will be helping move anything, as successful bidders are cautioned that they will be responsible for loading, packing and removal of any and all property awarded to them from the exact place where the property is located” in the agency’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va.
Sources told CUToday.info NCUA expects a minimum bid of at least $11,000 for the nine pieces of furniture.