Donald Trump has yet another big problem on his hands
Omarosa Manigault-Newman has made her way into the news yet again – in a way that’s sure to cause further headaches for the Trump administration, and it’s not even related to Robert Mueller or Russia. Instead, the former star of the Apprentice is filing a lawsuit against the administration, alleging that throughout the campaign she earned less money than her male colleagues for the same work.
Omarosa’s new allegations aren’t unique, either. She’s joining a collective action lawsuit filed by Alva Johnson back in February, accusing the Trump campaign of the same thing. The numbers appear to be on their side, as data from the Federal Election Commission shows that women on the Trump campaign’s senior staff were paid an average of 18.2 percent less than male senior staffers between May and December of 2016.
Alva Johnson is also one of 23 women who have come forward accusing Donald Trump of sexual harassment. These lawsuits could not come at a worse time for Donald Trump, or for that matter the the Republican Party. The GOP performed terribly with women voters last November and seems to be hard-pressed on how to win them over, instead merely hoping that it can get more women to run as Republicans in 2020.
The abhorrent anti-choice bills that a number of states across the country are shoehorning into law as quick as possible are likely to bode poorly enough for Republicans in the next two election cycles. Meanwhile, among the bills passed by the Democratic controlled House is the Paycheck Fairness Act, which made it easier for women to fight against pay discrimination. Democrats voted overwhelmingly in favor of it, but Republicans mostly voted against it. They could try to explain this away in their campaigns as an unfair bill that harms employers, but that may only make things worse.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making