The State Department spent more than $52,000 (£40,000) last year on mechanised curtains for the residence of the US ambassador to the UN. The purchase, which a spokesperson for current ambassador Nikki Haley said was approved by the Obama administration, included a $29,900 (£23,000) set of curtains and $22,800 (£17,000) in hardware to open and close them automatically, according to government contracts. The total – $52,700 (£40,000) – was almost as much as the government pays for Ms Haley’s $58,000-a-month (£44,000) apartment on Manhattan’s First Avenue, according to the New York Times.
