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It's been a little while since Senator John McCain has tweeted something that provoked the full wrath of his social-media trolls, but he let one rip late Tuesday night, and Twitter carved into him like a freshly roasted Butterball.
"Good news for Arizona businesses that have been forced to comply w/ onerous fed'l reg," he tweeted, linking to an article about a federal judge's decision to temporarily block a new regulation from the U.S. Department of Labor. The law, which was finalized in May and set to go into effect December 1, requires employers to pay overtime to any employee who makes $47,476 or less annually (about $913 per week) – previously, the threshold was $23,660 per year.
An estimated 4 million American workers would have benefited from this new rule, but 21 states – including Arizona – and a collation of business-interest groups sued the federal government, arguing that the labor department doesn't have the authority to make a rule like this.
Though the injunction is technically temporary, an article from Politico notes that the judge's decision to do so is a good indicator that he'll eventually side with the plaintiffs and permanently block the rule.
Given McCain's tweet, it's no secret which side of the debate he comes down on, but given the Twitter reaction, it's no secret that many of his followers beg to differ.
Good news for #Arizona businesses that have been forced to comply w/ onerous fed'l reg: "Judge blocks overtime rule" https://t.co/RMYk55ENX0
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) November 23, 2016
"[Senator McCain], you're happy that hundreds of thousands of your constituents have just had their rightful pay stolen? Shameful," tweeted @DenisePerkins5.
"Bragging about a judge blocking overtime pay is like cheering for cancer," Twitter user @birdistheherd wrote.
"How exactly is compensating people who are already underpaid for their time/work onerous?" @msmithobx tweeted.
There are too many angry responses to list them all, but here are some favorites:
@SenJohnMcCain congrats on shitting on the little guy.
— Joel (@JoelBarss) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico what is wrong with you?? You're overpaid for too little work so you want to steal from people who actually do work?
— Nina Carroll (@ninakcarroll) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain But yes, wooo! Go employer abuse! Go not paying workers fairly! Huzzah!
— WilliamOwen (@William_A_Owen) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico congratulations Millionaire maverick on denying working Arizonans overtime! Well done!
— David Kidd (@DEKidd95) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain yr heart is made of such garbage that after hoarding millions for yourself u then set fire to people trying to get a dollar?
— a. v. walker (@alxswlkr) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico #fuck #you #john
— Jonathan Five (@j5robot) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico pic.twitter.com/nfODNl7sk0
— LVC (@bornwithatail_) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain Are you really applauding working Americans losing OT? What a fraud you've become.
— Cory Branch (@boriskrunch) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico have you completely lost your way captain?
— Jude™ (@TheEntropicMan) November 23, 2016
.@SenJohnMcCain I'm sure the people of AZ are happy to have a well-off Republican senator like you to block their ability to earn fair pay.
— Kevin Ware (@SFTennisFreak) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico Says the sellout who gets paid $1,976 an hour and $3,351 in benefits per hour to work 103 days a year, plus bribes.
— Gary St. Lawrence (@GaryStLawrence) November 23, 2016
.@SenJohnMcCain I own a business in your state, and I think it's disgusting that you're celebrating cheating workers out of their wages.
— @cinnamaldehyde (@cinnamaldehyde) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain @politico I agree! Screw poor people!!
— Fred McTweeter (@tweetinomglol) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain yeah, fuck poor people!
— J. Michael Kell (@jmichaelkell) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain Oh yes! Let's go back to the slack rules that let co's get away without paying people for working >40 hours. Good Republican!
— Nasty Dawn Gulick (@DawnGulick) November 23, 2016
@SenJohnMcCain Yea!!! Businesses get to screw their employees. Real nice.
— Hayes Norris (@Hayes_1971) November 23, 2016
@MelWebster @SenJohnMcCain The #GOP always wanted to go back to being slave owners. Seems they got their wish.
— #TheResistance (@MBarber84211320) November 23, 2016
And last, but certainly not least:
@SenJohnMcCain
— NikD (@_NIKD_) November 23, 2016
Now, that's a real #WarOnChristmas.
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