{"id":902765,"date":"2021-10-20T16:44:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T20:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=902765"},"modified":"2021-10-20T16:44:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T20:44:24","slug":"peep-tom-vilsacks-2k-drapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/peep-tom-vilsacks-2k-drapes\/","title":{"rendered":"Peep Tom Vilsack\u2019s $2K Drapes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpeep-tom-vilsacks-2k-drapes%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=902765&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div readability=\"27.229813664596\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><a class href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/\">Democrats<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">Agriculture secretary spends big on Zoom drapery with taxpayer funds<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"736\" height=\"514\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E0o9nsXX0A4Bb3-_736x514-1.jpeg\" class=\"w-full lazyload blur-up wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E0o9nsXX0A4Bb3-_736x514.jpeg 736w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E0o9nsXX0A4Bb3-_736x514-300x210.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E0o9nsXX0A4Bb3-_736x514-703x491.jpeg 703w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" \/>\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/collin-anderson\/\" title=\"Posts by Collin Anderson\" class=\"author url fn text-red-700\" rel=\"author\">Collin Anderson<\/a> \u2022 October 20, 2021 4:39 pm<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"88.919251517195\">\n<p><span>Biden administration agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack spent nearly $2,000 in taxpayer funds&nbsp;<\/span><span>on an uninspiring set of drapes, public documents obtained by the <\/span><i><span>Washington Free Beacon<\/span><\/i><span> show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Vilsack made two separate &#8220;pipe and backdrop\/drape kit&#8221; purchases\u2014one for $928.94 on April 6 and another for $1,008.51 on Sept. 30, according to expenditure records provided by the Department of Agriculture. Both purchases came through Georgia Expo, the self-described &#8220;leading manufacturer of pipe and drape.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>During a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?510279-1\/secretary-tom-vilsack-department-agriculture-priorities\"><span>virtual conversation<\/span><\/a><span> with the National Press Club held on March 26\u2014days before Vilsack made his first drape purchase for more than $900\u2014the Democrat appeared in front of a perfectly operational set of drapes to tout the administration&#8217;s &#8220;assistance to black farmers.&#8221; Months later, he used the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecVilsack\/status\/1396579505691574272\"><span>same background<\/span><\/a><span> for a conversation with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/blog\/prominent-beto-supporter-denounced-for-singing-pro-lynching-anthem\/\"><span>prominent Beto O&#8217;Rourke supporter<\/span><\/a><span> Willie Nelson, despite his status as the new owner of more than $900 worth of drapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Vilsack did give the American public a behind-the-scenes look at his extensive drape setup in May, when he tweeted a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecVilsack\/status\/1389991890313957379?s=20\"><span>photo<\/span><\/a><span> in a studio as he talked to &#8220;local media about the American Families Plan.&#8221; In the following weeks and months, however, Vilsack <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecVilsack\/status\/1397949575315562501\"><span>shared photos<\/span><\/a><span> from a multitude of similar virtual conversations, during which he did not utilize his newfound drapes.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecVilsack\/status\/1420759333206315011?s=20\"><span>July discussion<\/span><\/a><span> with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.), for example, Vilsack appeared in front of a bookshelf. In an October &#8220;roundtable discussion with Hispanic-serving Institution leaders,&#8221; meanwhile, he sat in front of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecVilsack\/status\/1446535114478006273\"><span>notably drapeless wall<\/span><\/a><span>. The roundtable came one week after Vilsack spent more than $1,000 on additional drapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Department of Agriculture did not return a request for comment on Vilsack&#8217;s drapes.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Georgia Expo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiaexpo.com\/product\/14ft-high-pipe-drape-backdrop-kit\/\">charges<\/a> $230 for a 14-foot drape kit. The company also boasts an array of drape upgrades, however, which could explain Vilsack&#8217;s lofty bill. One enhanced drape option is the &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiaexpo.com\/product\/performance-velour\/\"><span>Performance Velour\u2122 Drape<\/span><\/a><span>,&#8221; a &#8220;luxurious fabric&#8221; that is &#8220;ideal for stage backdrops \u2026 or creating a high-end look with fabric.&#8221; Georgia Expo&#8217;s velour offering is also &#8220;Inherently Flame Resistant, 100% blackout, lightweight, and washable.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Vilsack is not the first prominent government official to be subject to a drape-related expos\u00e9, but may be the first to face warranted criticism over the spending.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In 2018, then-ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/blogs\/erik-wemple\/wp\/2018\/09\/14\/new-york-times-wrongs-nikki-haley-with-curtain-headline\/\"><span>faced unwarranted criticism<\/span><\/a><span> when the <\/span><i><span>New York Times<\/span><\/i><span> reported that former president Donald Trump&#8217;s State Department &#8220;spent $52,701 on curtains&#8221; for Haley&#8217;s residence. But plans to buy the curtains originated with the Obama administration, and Haley had no say in the decision. The <\/span><i><span>Times<\/span><\/i><span> went on to issue an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/13\/us\/politics\/state-department-curtains.html\"><span>editors&#8217; note<\/span><\/a><span> stating that the original article &#8220;created an unfair impression about who was responsible for the purchase in question&#8221; and &#8220;should not have focused on Ms. Haley.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats Agriculture secretary spends big on Zoom drapery with taxpayer funds  Collin Anderson \u2022 October 20, 2021 4:39 pm Biden administration agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1898251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-902765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}