Katie Porter
Katherine Moore Porter[2] (born January 3, 1974) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the U.S. representative from California's 47th congressional district since 2023, previously representing the 45th congressional district from 2019 to 2023. She was elected as part of a Democratic wave in Orange County flipping the 45th district, covering much of south-central Orange County, including Irvine, Tustin, and Lake Forest along with large portions of Anaheim and Laguna Niguel. In 2022, she was reelected in the 47th congressional district following redistricting.[3] In 2023, Porter announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate, foregoing reelection to the House of Representatives. She was defeated after failing to advance from the nonpartisan primary won by Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey.
For persons of a similar name, see Katherine Porter (disambiguation).
Katie Porter
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. In the House, she was deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has received media attention for her questioning during congressional hearings.[4]
Early life and education[edit]
Porter was born on January 3, 1974, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She grew up on a farm in southern Iowa.[5][6] Her father, Dan Porter, was a farmer and banker.[1] Her mother, Liz, was a founder of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.
After graduating from Phillips Academy,[2][7] Porter attended Yale University, where she majored in American studies, graduating in 1996.[8] Her undergraduate thesis was titled The Effects of Corporate Farming on Rural Community.[9] She was a member of Grace Hopper College (then called Calhoun College) at Yale.[10] Porter also interned for Chuck Grassley during this time.[11]
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.[12][13] She studied under bankruptcy law professor and future U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, and graduated magna cum laude with her Juris Doctor in 2001.[1]
Career[edit]
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.[12] She practiced with the law firm of Stoel Rives LLP in Portland, Oregon,[12] and was the project director for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges' Business Bankruptcy Project.[14][15][16]
Porter was an associate professor of law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law.[12] In 2005, she joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Law as an associate professor,[12] becoming a full professor there in 2011.[17] Also in 2011, she became a tenured professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.[18][8][19]
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.[20] As monitor, she oversaw the banks' implementation of $9.5 billion in settlement reforms for Californians.[21] In 2015, Porter consulted for Ocwen.[22] Porter's 2016 textbook Modern Consumer Law addresses consumer laws in light of Dodd–Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.[23]
Toxic workplace allegations[edit]
In January 2023, Politico reported on criticism that Porter was "allegedly a terrible—according to some accounts, abusive and racist—boss."[69] The accusations include allegations that she used racist language and "ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment".[70]
The Washington Post interviewed eight former employees on condition of anonymity about their experiences working for Porter.[71] The staffers described her as domineering and recounted multiple examples of her mistreatment of staffers, including instances where she berated staffers until they cried.[71] 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.[71]
Personal life[edit]
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.[88] Her daughter, Betsy, is named after Elizabeth Warren.[11] Hoffman lives outside of California, and Porter is the main caregiver for their children.[88]
Porter lives in a four-bedroom residence on the University of California Irvine campus that she purchased in 2011.[89] The university reduced the residence's price to $523,000 via its housing scheme for staff, with the Associated Press reporting in 2022 that the median price of a residence in Irvine was $1,300,000.[89] The university sponsored Porter's housing scheme application in return for Porter agreeing to teach at the university as a law professor, but Porter stopped teaching in 2018 after being elected.[89] The university then continually granted Porter no-pay leave, allowing her to stay in Irvine, with the Associated Press reporting in 2022 that the university simultaneously had "a yearslong waitlist of more than 250 school academics and administrators" intending to join the housing scheme Porter used.[89]