United States Representatives are well-paid—they take in $174,000 a year. But the new class of congress members elected this week won’t get their first government payday until they’re sworn in in January, and until then it would probably raise some eyebrows if they earned money in the private sector. Three months without a salary may not be a problem for most representatives, who have a median net worth of $900,000. But for a young, working-class congressional rookie like New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, getting an apartment in Washington D.C. while technically jobless presents challenges.

She told The New York Times that the period until she’s sworn in will be "very unusual, because I can’t really take a salary."

"I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real." She said she saved money before leaving her job at the restaurant, and planned accordingly with her partner. "We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January."

Naturally, the minds at Fox News find the idea of living on a limited income to be hilarious. Correspondent Ed Henry mocked Ocasio-Cortez for wearing "multi-thousand dollar outfits" in photo shoots during the campaign instead of saving for rent money. (Henry appears unfamiliar with the fact that people don’t get to keep the designer clothes they’re loaned for photo shoots.) Panel contributor Judy Miller called Ocasio-Cortez’s account of her financial struggles "a brilliant political" line, while conceding that D.C. is one of the most expensive cities in the nation.

Ocasio-Cortez clapped back on Twitter, noting that the housing crisis is very much real.

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1. @FoxNews, why can’t any of your anchors say my name correctly? It’s been 5 months.



2. It is bizarre to see 1%-salaried anchors laugh at the US housing crisis.



3. Never purchased pricey clothes + always told my story. But repeating lies until they are believed is your thing. https://t.co/Py5aXFi3Z4 — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2018

Like a pro, she also brought the issue back to her platform. Working-class people are underrepresented in U.S. politics, and while Ocasio-Cortez's history-making status as the youngest woman ever elected to congress is amazing, her status as the rare working-class legislator is also hugely important.



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40% of ALL Americans currently struggle to pay for one basic need like food or rent.



As much as @FoxNews likes to mock the working-class, the real scandal is that at the wealthiest point in our history, we are at one of our most unequal.



Most Americans are barely scraping by. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2018

Gabrielle Bruney Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture.

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