Quote of the Day: “You’re a Piece of Trash”

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From EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox, asked for comment about the resignation of two aides to Scott Pruitt:

You have a great day, you’re a piece of trash.

So professional. The backstory here is that a few weeks ago an Atlantic reporter revealed that Pruitt had asked for permission to raise the salaries of two of his favorite staffers, both of whom had followed him to DC from Oklahoma. Even though he was turned down, Pruitt gave them raises anyway. Millan Hupp, a 26-year-old scheduler, ended up making $114,590 until the Atlantic story came out and Pruitt was forced to rescind the raises.

Obviously Wilcox takes this personally, which is why he told Elaina Plott she was a piece of trash when she called for comment today about Hupp’s resignation. But he must have missed this part:

According to one top EPA official, the 26-year-old was “tired of being thrown under the bus by Pruitt,” and weary of seeing her name constantly appear in headlines about the agency. Officials began drafting her resignation paperwork on Monday morning, just after portions of her congressional testimony were made public.

Pruitt must be a real shitbag. Hupp has worked for Pruitt for several years, and even without the raise she was making $86,460 at age 26. That’s not bad for a 2014 graduate of Oklahoma State University majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Administration. Pruitt must have treated her pretty badly to finally get her to quit what’s really a pretty plum job.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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