May 11, 2018

Ask a Pundit: Why Does Scott Pruitt Still Have a Job?

Mother Jones; Andrew Harnik/AP

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Martin Longman asks a provocative question: Why is Scott Pruitt untouchable? Trump has fired loads of other people, but despite Pruitt’s almost comical accumulation of embarrassing scandals, he has somehow managed to hang on. What’s the deal with this? How does Pruitt do it? I’m here to help:

  • He has not called Donald Trump either a moron or an idiot.
  • He does not argue with Trump about policy.
  • He does not bore Trump with lengthy white papers.
  • He believes climate change is hogwash.
  • Liberals hate his guts.
  • The press is gunning for him.
  • He is nakedly avaricious and enjoys taking revenge on his enemies—two traits that Trump approves of.
  • Trump doesn’t really care about scandals per se, only about scandals that threaten to touch him in any way.
  • Pruitt’s scandals don’t touch Trump in any way.

Any other questions?

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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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