One of the youngest members of Congress, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), just got himself into a strange public relations spat over office decor.
When Washington Post reporter Ben Terris popped into Schock’s new office Monday in the Rayburn House Office Building, the outer room stuck out to him for its bright red walls and gold wall sconces. A woman at the front desk told Terris that the decor was inspired by “Downton Abbey,” the British period drama that airs on PBS.
After a woman who introduced herself as Shock’s interior decorator offered to guide Terris though the rest of the rooms, he snapped photos of the crystal chandelier and bunches of pheasant feathers that completed Schock’s new digs.
But the congressman’s communications director, Benjamin Cole, moved quickly to put the kibosh on Terris’ guided tour.
Terris wrote that a staff member asked him to delete the photos he’d taken. After much back-and-forth, Cole later offered Terris a chance to speak with Schock about anything other than his office space (it should be noted that extra furniture or decor not provided by the House is paid for by the lawmaker).
“He’s happy to talk to you, just not about the office,” Cole reportedly told Terris. “I’m really sorry and want you to know this is not fun for me.”
Cole even was coy about Schock’s “Downton Abbey” fandom.
“I don’t even know if he watches it; I don’t know what shows he watches,” he told Terris. “But I don’t think he watches much TV.”
Undeterred, Terris tweeted out the photos Schock’s team wanted kept under wraps:
Rep. Schock decorated his office like a room in Downton Abbey. He doesn’t wanna talk about it http://t.co/dhDUoBMnNF pic.twitter.com/yaLV5AkDoZ
— Ben Terris (@bterris) February 3, 2015
People want more photos from Schock’s office. Here are pheasant feathers.
http://t.co/dhDUoBMnNF pic.twitter.com/gu1Qc4oSFS
— Ben Terris (@bterris) February 3, 2015
Fwiw, I thought the office looked rad. http://t.co/dhDUoBMnNF pic.twitter.com/XKnK5yNori
— Ben Terris (@bterris) February 3, 2015
