Conservative up-and-comer North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, which totally sounds like a porn name, has made quite the name for himself. Even before taking office, Cawthorn was caught up in several low-level scandals—well, mostly shitty and insensitive behavior, but scandal sounds more salacious. Cawthorn once claimed that he was headed to the Naval Academy before a tragic car crash left him partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Welp, it turns out that was a lie as he admitted in a 2017 sworn deposition obtained by AVL Watchdog that he had already been rejected by the Academy before the crash. He also visited Adolf Hitler’s birth home and claimed it was on his bucket list. And if that wasn’t enough, his motto is: “Pro-Trump, Pro-Life, Pro-Gun and Pro-Law Enforcement,” which he ran in Facebook ads, much to the fat orange man’s delight.
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Oh, and this is rich: Before Trump took the stage at the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, guess who was whipping the mayonnaise anti-maskers up into an unseasoned froth? Yep, you guessed it: Cawthorn. He seems to stay where the trouble resides.
Well, it turns out that since taking office, Cawthorn just can’t stop making news, as he has hired his homeboy, who has absolutely no experience in government whatsoever, to be his top staffer, costing taxpayers a smooth $127,111. Well, I shouldn’t say no experience; Cawthorn’s chief of staff, William “Blake” Harp, did run a Texas fireworks stand, so there is that.
From the Citizen-Times:
The staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, said Harp had said his only work had been a construction job and running fireworks stands in Texas, where he grew up.
“One hundred twenty-seven thousand dollars is not exorbitant for a chief. It’s highway robbery for anyone for whom it’s their first real job and they bring no discernible skills,” the staffer said.
Cawthorn spokesman Micah Bock did not respond to requests for a comment, but the Citizen-Times did note that Harp likes “Bubba’s Fireworks” on his Facebook page. The Citizen-Times also notes that more than a half dozen top staffers for N.C. members of Congress have six to 17 years of experience in government.
For example: Mathew Lee “was a legislative director for six years before becoming chief of staff for Rep. Deborah Ross, his account said. He now makes $122,222.24.” You read that correctly; Lee makes less than Harp, whose only experience, it seems, is to tell someone the difference between a bottle rocket and a sparkler.
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