June 17, 2018

We Finally Figured Out Why Paul Ryan Always Seems to Miss Trump Administration Scandals

He was too busy making dad jokes.

Alex Edelman/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

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Last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) drew criticism after he claimed to have no knowledge of the many scandals currently plaguing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Pruitt has come under fire for deploying his government staff or security detail to do everything from trying to get his wife a Chick-fil-a franchise to inquiring about buying a used mattress from the Trump Hotel, to fetching him his favorite pricey moisturizer. He’s facing more than a dozen federal inquiries into his spending and management at the agency. But when asked about Pruitt’s scandals during his weekly news conference at the Capitol, Ryan told reporters, “Frankly, I haven’t paid that close attention to them. I don’t know enough about what Pruitt has or has not done to give you a good comment.”

The internet had a field day with Paul’s comments—which weren’t the first time he’s pleaded ignorance. But we at Mother Jones did some digging to see if we could find out why the most powerful man in the House of Representatives seemed so oblivious to news that’s been the talk of the town for weeks. And we think we’ve found the answer: He was too busy making dad jokes. 

In preparation for Father’s Day, Ryan sat down with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and made a video in which they try to crack each other up with absolutely terrible jokes. A sampling:

McHenry: Did you know that French fries weren’t originally cooked in France?

Ryan: No.

McHenry: They were cooked in grease.

You can watch the whole yuk fest here:

 

 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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