Katherine Moore Porter (born January 3, 1974) is an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from California from 2019 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Porter graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School and has taught law at several universities, including the University of California, Irvine, the William S. Boyd School of Law, and the University of Iowa. She was elected 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. In 2023, Porter announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate, forgoing reelection to the House of Representatives. She was defeated after failing to advance from the nonpartisan primary won by Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey. She is currently a candidate for governor of California for the 2026 election.
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.
After graduating from Phillips Academy, Porter attended Yale University, where she majored in American studies, graduating in 1996. Her undergraduate thesis was titled The Effects of Corporate Farming on Rural Community. She was a member of Grace Hopper College (then called Calhoun College) at Yale. Porter also interned for Chuck Grassley during this time.
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.
Career
Porter was a law clerk for Judge Richard S. Arnold of the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Little Rock, Arkansas. She practiced with the law firm of Stoel Rives LLP in Portland, Oregon, and was the project director for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges' Business Bankruptcy Project.
Porter was an associate professor of law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law. In 2005, she joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Law as an associate professor, becoming a full professor there in 2011. 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 a proposed Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, 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. Porter's 2016 textbook Modern Consumer Law addresses consumer laws in light of Dodd–Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
In April 2017, Democrat Katie 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 advanced to the primary in June 2018.
Katie 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 including 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.
As of June 2022, Porter had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 98.2% of the time. She voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 5, 2021. Porter was among the 46 House Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
During her failed 2024 Senate campaign, Porter called for decommissioning the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
Abortion
Porter has a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and an F rating from the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America for her abortion-related voting history. She opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
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.
Help America Run Act
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.
Congressional questioning
During Trump's 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, Porter questioned Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan, arguing that he contradicted his lawyers' "corporate puffery". In April 2019, she questioned JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. In May 2019, she asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson about "REOs", real estate owned properties, which he confused with Oreo cookies. She asked Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Kathy Kraninger to solve basic math problems about annual percentage rates on payday loans, which Kraninger declined to do. In March 2020, Robert R. Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, committed to make COVID-19 testing free for all Americans during questioning by Porter.
At an August 24, 2020, congressional hearing, Porter questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. He admitted to her that he did not know the cost of mailing a postcard or a smaller greeting card, the starting rate for U.S. Priority Mail, or how many Americans voted by mail in the 2016 elections. In a December 2020 House hearing, she sparred with United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin over COVID-19 relief funding.
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.
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.
Other political roles
Porter served as one of three co-chairs of Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.
Committee assignments
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
- Rare Disease Caucus
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 accusations include allegations that she used racist language and "ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment".
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. In response to the allegations that she created a toxic workplace, Porter defended herself on The View in April 2023 by comparing herself to women of color who are discriminated against.
2024 United States Senate campaign
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's timing was viewed as disrespectful. 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).
Her major opponents in the campaign were Democrat Adam Schiff, a centrist congressman, Republican Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player, and Democrat Barbara Lee, a progressive congresswoman.
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; Schiff and Garvey advanced to the November general election. With at least 99% of votes counted, Porter trailed Schiff and Garvey by between 800,000 and 1.2 million votes, with Porter failing to lead in any county. 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" 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." She made clear that her assertions about the "rigging" were not related to counting of votes or the election process, which she called "beyond reproach". Porter said: "That is a dishonest means to manipulate the outcome. I said 'rigged by billionaires' and our politics are in fact manipulated by big dark money. Defending democracy means calling that out."
Electoral history
2018
2020
2022
2024
Personal life
In 2003, Porter married Matthew Hoffman, with whom she has three children. Porter filed for divorce in 2013. Their divorce was contentious, and both Hoffman and Porter sought help for anger management. Her daughter, Betsy, is named after Elizabeth Warren. Hoffman lives outside of California, and Porter is the main caregiver for their children.
Porter lives in a four-bedroom residence on the University of California, Irvine, campus that she purchased in 2011. 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, in line with norms in that community for university faculty and staff. In 2022, the Associated Press reported that the median price of a residence in Irvine was $1,300,000. Porter paused her teaching in 2018 after being elected. The university then continually granted Porter no-pay leave, as is the norm for faculty providing service to the nation such as NSF Program officer or member of Congress, allowing her to keep her residence on campus during her congressional tenure. A post-marriage relationship with a live-in boyfriend ended when Porter obtained a restraining order to keep him away from Porter, her home, and her children.
The Pew Research Center reported in 2023 that Porter is an Episcopalian.
Publications
Books
- Modern Consumer Law (Aspen Publishing, May 27, 2016) ISBN 978-1-4548-6085-3.
- The Law of Debtors and Creditors: Text, Cases, and Problems (8th ed.). (Aspen Publishers. November 01, 2020) ISBN 978-1-4548-9351-6 . (Co-authored with Jay Westbrook, Elizabeth Warren, John Pottow)
- Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class (Stanford University Press, 2012) ISBN 978-0-8047-7700-1
- I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan (Crown, April 11, 2023) ISBN 978-0-593-44398-9
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.
See also
- List of Harvard University politicians
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
Notes
References
External links
- Congresswoman Katie Porter official U.S. House website
- Katie Porter for Congress campaign website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
