Katie Porter

Katherine Moore Porter (born January 3, 1974) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 2019 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a candidate in the 2024 U.S. Senate election in California and the 2026 California gubernatorial election. She did not advance from the nonpartisan primary in either race, placing third and fifth, respectively. Her poor showing was blamed, in part, on negative media attention regarding allegations of abusive behavior towards her congressional staff. In July 2026 she implied that she was retiring from politics.

Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Porter graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School. In 2018, she was elected to Congress as part of a Democratic wave in Orange County, flipping the 45th district. In 2022, after redistricting, she was reelected in the 47th congressional district. In the House, she was deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and received media attention for her questioning during congressional hearings. She was noted for her use of whiteboards and other visual aids, and she gained a reputation as a fierce questioner.

Early life and education Porter was born on January 3, 1974, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She grew up on a farm in southern Iowa. Her father, Dan Porter, was a farmer and banker. Her mother, Liz, was a founder of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.

Porter attended Phillips Academy, a boarding school near Boston. In 1996, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from Yale University. While at Yale, Porter interned for Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.

Porter later attended Harvard Law School, where she was the notes editor for the Harvard Women's Law Journal and a member of the Board of Student Advisers. She studied under bankruptcy law professor and future U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren, and graduated magna cum laude with her Juris Doctor in 2001.

Porter was an associate professor of law at William S. Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2005, she joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Law as an associate professor, Also in 2011, she became a tenured professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.

In 2008, Porter testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit alongside then-Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren on the proposed Credit CARD Act of 2009, which was later signed into law.

In March 2012, California attorney general Kamala Harris appointed Porter to be the state's independent monitor of banks in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement. As monitor, she oversaw the banks' implementation of $9.5 billion in settlement reforms for Californians. In 2015, Porter consulted for Ocwen.

Political career U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2018

In April 2017, Porter announced her candidacy for Congress in California's 45th congressional district against two-term Republican incumbent Mimi Walters. In May 2018, Politico reported that Democrats were confident they would oust Walters, given that Hillary Clinton carried the 45th District in 2016, with Porter stating that "Orange County families are very concerned about what Donald Trump is doing" and "Mimi Walters votes with Trump over and over and over again." Porter finished second in a June 2018 primary and advanced to the general election.

Porter faced off against Walters in the general election on November 6, 2018. Walters led at the end of election night, but in the following days, as more ballots were tabulated, Porter gained votes and eventually overtook Walters. Walters alleged unsubstantiated voter fraud by Democrats, claiming they sought to "steal" her seat.

On November 15, 2018, the Associated Press called the race for Porter, marking the first Democratic victory in the district since its 1953 creation. Following her win, Porter pledged to reform campaign finance laws and highlighted her refusal of corporate PAC donations in her campaign. Porter's win contributed to a wave for Democrats in Orange County that saw them flip four seats centered in the county, resulting in Democratic control of all seven seats in the historically Republican county.

2020

Porter ran for reelection to a second term. She advanced from the top-two primary in first place and faced off against the second-place finisher, Republican Mission Viejo mayor Greg Raths, in the general election. Porter won with 53.5% of the vote to Raths's 46.5%.

2022

Porter was reelected in California's 47th congressional district, defeating Republican nominee Scott Baugh with 51.6% of the vote to Baugh's 48.4%.

Tenure

In June 2019, Porter became one of the first Democrats in a swing district to support an impeachment inquiry following Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation. She voted for both the first and second impeachments of Donald Trump.

In January 2021, Porter was removed from the Financial Services Committee after opting to serve instead on the House Natural Resources and House Oversight committees. On the Oversight committee, Porter participated in an investigation into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s test standards for children's car seats and boosters side-impact.

Porter served as one of three co-chairs of Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.

Hearings During Trump's first presidency, Porter gained notice for her pointed questioning of public officials and business leaders during congressional hearings, often using visual aids such as whiteboards. In March 2019, she questioned Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan, arguing that he contradicted his lawyers' "corporate puffery". In May 2019, she asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson about "REOs", real estate owned properties. She questioned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Kathy Kraninger on basic math problems about annual percentage rates on payday loans, which Kraninger declined to answer. In a December 2020 House hearing, she questioned United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin over COVID-19 relief funding.

Toxic workplace allegations In January 2023, Politico reported on criticism that Porter was "allegedly a terrible—according to some accounts, abusive and racist—boss."

The Washington Post interviewed eight former employees on condition of anonymity about their experiences working for Porter. The staffers described her as domineering and recounted multiple examples of her mistreatment of staffers, including instances where she berated staffers until they cried. After the video resurfaced, Porter stated that "what I did to the staffer was wrong." She also claimed that she apologized to the staffer and thanked her for the correction.

Committee assignments For the 116th Congress:

Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs

For the 117th Congress:

Committee on Natural Resources Committee on Oversight and Accountability

For the 118th Congress: Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Committee on Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Joint Economic Committee

Caucus memberships Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment Congressional Taiwan Caucus Rare Disease Caucus

2024 U.S. Senate campaign

Katie Porter speaking to reporters at the California Democratic Party Fall Endorsing Convention in 2023. On January 10, 2023, Porter announced her candidacy in the 2024 election for the U.S. Senate from California. The announcement came before the incumbent, Dianne Feinstein, had announced whether she would seek reelection. Porter raised over $1 million in donations in the 24 hours after announcing her candidacy, with an average donation of $38. Her supporters formed a super PAC called Women Have Initiative To Elect, Boost, and Organize for A Real Democrat (WHITEBOARD).

During the campaign, Porter's campaign offered her extensive fundraising list of phone numbers and email addresses for sale to interested parties.

Porter failed to advance from the March 5 nonpartisan primary, finishing third; The loss ensured that Porter, who did not seek reelection to her House seat, would leave Congress by January 2025.

After her loss in the primary, Porter said the election had been "rigged by billionaires" against her. She claimed that the "rigging" criticism referred to Schiff's campaign and allies raising and spending $11 million in the nonpartisan primary to boost a Republican candidate and knock her out of the general election. Her use of the word "rigged" triggered backlash from some Democrats, who condemned her language for echoing former president Trump's refusal to accept his 2020 loss. Porter later expressed regret, saying, "I wish I had chosen a different word."

2026 California gubernatorial campaign

On March 11, 2025, Porter announced that she would be entering California's 2026 gubernatorial race.

On October 8, 2025, Porter threatened to walk out of an interview with CBS News Sacramento Correspondent Julie Watts. After a question about what Porter would say to the Californians who voted for Donald Trump, Porter "scoffed" at Watts' assertion that she would need those voters to win the race, and grew "palpably irritated" by follow-up questions. After Watts assured Porter that other candidates had answered the question and that her interviewing was not intended to be combative, Porter threatened to walk out of the interview. When Watts asked if Porter intended to continue the interview, Porter replied: "Nope, not like this I'm not. Not with seven follow-ups to every question you ask," though they ultimately continued with the interview. Porter's opponents in the race condemned her behavior in the interview; former Los Angeles Mayor and opposing candidate Antonio Villaraigosa said the incident raised questions about Porter's ability to "answer simple questions."

On May 12, 2026, Porter garnered support for her campaign via a Jeopardy-style game. She conceded the race on June 2, 2026, and later announced her retirement from politics.

Political positions Social issues Housing During her 2024 Senate campaign, Porter blamed the housing crisis on "Wall Street". She argued that federal government investment in housing is needed in response to California's housing crisis. She supports increased funding for section 8 vouchers and an increase in the low-income housing tax credit.

Abortion rights Porter opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

LGBTQ rights Porter was a co-sponsor of the Equality Act. In 2019 and 2021, she voted in favor of H.R. 5, which passed in the House, but failed in the Senate.

On January 13, 2022, Porter urged the Food and Drug Administration to end a policy that prevented sexually active gay and bisexual men from giving blood donations. In 2022, Porter supported and voted in favor for the Respect for Marriage Act.

Workers rights In 2023, Porter joined writers in solidarity on the picket line during the WGA strike at The Culver Studios in Los Angeles. Addressing the crowd Porter said, "One of the things I love about this movement is that you guys are in it to stand up to corporate power and set an example for all of your brothers and sisters who are workers, who are unionized, and who are struggling to have labor rights." While speaking to Deadline Hollywood, Porter stated that "corporations are using innovation and technology as an excuse to bust unions, and it's absolutely unacceptable... So this strike is about the entertainment industry, but it's also about so much more." Porter also joined the SAG-AFTRA, WGA picket line outside Paramount Studios in August 2023. She stated, "I'm here today to stand with the SAG-AFTRA workers to listen and to learn from them and to make it clear that workers have the right to bargain."

Healthcare Porter is a supporter of Medicare for All.

In March 2019, Porter introduced the "Help America Run Act" (H.R.1623), a bill that would allow people running for the House or Senate to use campaign contributions to pay for healthcare premiums, elder care, child care, and dependent care. The bill passed the House in October 2019 but was not taken up by the Senate.

In 2020, Porter accused UnitedHealth of "putting profits before patients and providers" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Porter sent a congressional letter to UnitedHealth Group CEO David Wichmann, accusing the healthcare provider of reducing their provider networks and decrease reimbursement rates.

In 2020, Porter voted for the No-Surprise Act, which prohibited medical providers from billing patients for costs denied by insurance companies.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance in 2022, Porter criticized pharmaceutical companies for investing more money in stock buybacks than in research and development. She also addressed the high price of pharmaceuticals, saying, "Everybody should want us to have innovative care, but it doesn't do any good to develop those drugs if they're priced out of reach." Porter stated that "there is simply no set of facts that supports that allowing the government to negotiate drug prices would reduce innovation" and that the government should have the power to negotiate drug prices and it would help create a more competitive market.

Governance

Judiciary Porter has supported instituting more-stringent codes of conduct for the Supreme Court justices. In 2023, Demand Justice, an organization devoted to court reform and expansion, organized a statewide bus tour where Porter attended and put her support behind legislation that would expand the court to 13 justices.

Trump impeachments Porter voted for both the first and second impeachments of Donald Trump

Campaign finance Since 2018, Porter has not accepted campaign donations from corporate political action committees. She supported H.R.1 through the House of Representatives, which would undo the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.

Withdrawal of Biden After the June 2024 presidential debate, Porter said that the White House "clearly fumbled" with its response to the fallout from President Biden's debate performance. In an interview with CNN, Jake Tapper asked Porter, if Biden was capable of holding an hour and a half press conference. Porter responded by saying, "Like most Americans, I actually don't have that information", she also stated that she hadn't personally seen the president in about a year. Porter suggested that a change in direction could include a change in advisers or a change in campaign strategy.

Foreign policy

Azerbaijan In February 2023, Porter, on the House floor, called for the Biden administration to immediately end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and to end all U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan. She stated, "American taxpayers shouldn't be subsidizing Azerbaijan's constant aggression against the Armenian people." Porter also stated "Azerbaijan's goal is clear: to force the ethnic Armenians of Artsakh from their homeland by imposing conditions that make life impossible. We must hold Azerbaijan accountable for its aggression."

Middle East Syria In 2023, Porter voted against H.R. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict In December 2023, Porter called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war after Hamas is removed "from operational control of Gaza" and blamed Hamas for the "shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicine" over the years in Gaza.

Environment Porter is a supporter of the Green New Deal. She endorsed the Biden administration's 2023 "America the Beautiful" initiative.

In September 2023, during an interview with Fox 5 San Diego, Porter stated, "California is going to need to continue to have an 'all of the above' energy approach but we're also going to need to make that transition... And as we do, the question is can we make sure as we transition, slowly, away from fossil fuels to greener energy that we don't leave any workers behind."

In February 2024 during her Senate campaign, in a debate, Porter called for decommissioning the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.

Electoral history 2018

2020

2022

2024

Personal life Porter married Matthew Hoffman, with whom she has three children, in 2003. Porter filed for divorce in 2013. Their divorce was contentious, and both Hoffman and Porter sought help for anger management. Porter has said that Hoffman was both physically and verbally abusive toward her, while he accused her of pouring boiling potatoes on his head. She requested and received a protective order against Hoffman in 2013. UC Irvine has a faculty and staff housing community, University Hills, that was designed as "a way to compensate for high Orange County housing costs that can keep a recruit from accepting a job at the university". Porter's residence's price was $523,000, a below-market price in an area with a median home price of $1.3 million.

The Pew Research Center reported in 2023 that Porter is an Episcopalian.

Publications

Books Modern Consumer Law (Aspen Publishing, May 27, 2016) . The Law of Debtors and Creditors: Text, Cases, and Problems (8th ed.). (Aspen Publishers. November 1, 2020) . (Co-authored with Jay Westbrook, Elizabeth Warren, John Pottow) Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class (Stanford University Press, 2012) I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan (Crown, April 11, 2023)

Articles

'No Money Down' Bankruptcy (March 1, 2017). 'Foohey, Pamela and Lawless, Robert M. and Porter, Katherine M. and Thorne, Deborah, Southern California Law Review, 2017, Forthcoming, UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2017-12, University of Illinois College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 17-19. Cracking the Code: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Bankruptcy Outcomes, 101 Minnesota Law Review 1031–1098 (2017) (with Sara Greene and Parina Patel). Katherine Porter, The Complaint Conundrum: Thoughts on the CFPB's Complaint Mechanism, 7 Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L. (2012). "Did Bankruptcy Reform Fail? An Empirical Study of Consumer Debtors." Katherine Porter et al., co-authors. Am. Bankr. L. J. 82, no. 3 (2008): 349–405.