Benton’s promotion came with a pay cut

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Vancouver’s Don Benton is back in Washington and Oregon this week to encourage men to register for the draft.

The former Washington state Senator, who is now the director of the Selective Service Administration, is also taking the opportunity to once again address what he considers to be “fake news.”

Benton sat down with Melissa Santos, a reporter at The News Tribune, to chat about a wide range of issues from riding light rail in D.C. to his spat with Sen. Ann Rivers.

You can watch the entire video here.

Benton once again dismissed reports saying he had problems at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Washington Post reported Benton irritated Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and his deputies, offering unsolicited advice to the point he was shut out of some staff meetings. Shortly after the story appeared, Benton left his post as a senior White House adviser to the EPA — a job that came with a $179,700 annual salary — and was quietly sworn in to oversee the military draft agency.

His job change, Benton told The Columbian at the time, was simply a promotion.

“The President decided I was doing a good job and wanted to promote me,” he said.

But the promotion did come with a pay cut.

His new gig as the director of the Selective Service Administration pays $161,900. Not too bad, but a $17,800 pay cut from his role as EPA adviser.

It’s still a pay raise from his old gig, however. While Benton served as the Director of Clark County Services he earned $110,000, plus in 2016 the legislative pay was $45,474 for a total of $155,477.