She is the CEO of the whiteboard. She is the CEO of putting misogynists in their place. She is the CEO of being a badass in Congress. She is Katie Porter, a U.S. Representative for California’s 45th Congressional district.
Everyone has a trick up their sleeve that they use when they need it most, Katie’s is her whiteboard. Porter and her whiteboard became iconic when she used it during a hearing on March 12th, one day before the pandemic lockdown began, to illustrate to Dr. Robert Redfield--the director of the CDC--what it would cost for an uninsured American to get a coronavirus test. As she chiseled away on her whiteboard, she proved that it would cost $1,331 for an uninsured American to get tested for COVID-19. Along with her whiteboard, she brought up an established law that would allow Dr. Redfield to make testing widely available to all. She was persistent in asking Redfield if he would commit to invoking it. As expected, he did not give her a “yes or no” answer the first time she asked, so she asked again. He still had not committed to invoking it so she asked one last time. Dr. Redfield replied with “I think you’re an excellent questioner, so my answer is yes.” Katie had made history but didn’t stop there. She utilized her superpower in Congress during a hearing with Mark Alles, the former CEO of Celgene, a pharmaceutical company that significantly raised the price of a chemotherapy drug. Here’s where it gets evil, Mark Alles raised the price of this drug without improving its efficacy, which in turn put $500,000 in his pocket. After Katie spoke the truth for all to hear, she broke down the facts with her dry erase marker and her handy dandy whiteboard. While there was no decrease in the price of the chemotherapy drug, Katie helped shine a light on all of the pharmaceutical companies that raise the price of various drugs for no reason other than making a profit.
If anyone has the best intentions in mind for the people of the United States, it’s Katie Porter. Recently she got into an intense argument with the Treasury Secretary and Trump idol, Steve Mnuchin, over Mnuchin’s efforts to move $455 billion that was in COVID-19 Relief funds back to the Treasury’s general fund. Porter even exclaimed that under the CARES Act, “any remaining funds may be moved to the Treasury only on or after Jan. 1, 2026,” thus making Mnuchin’s efforts illegal. Katie was FED UP and said what we were all thinking, “[Mnuchin] is play-acting to be a lawyer.” In short, Katie asked Steve “are you in fact a lawyer?” to which he responded “I do not have a legal degree. I have lawyers that report to me.” Following that, Steve asked Katie if she was a lawyer. Stupid Steve clearly was not aware that Katie holds a degree from Harvard Law School and serves as a law professor at the University of California, Irvine. Mnuchin was already a vile idiot but Katie totally schooled him.
What I find most impressive about Katie is how ordinary she is. She’s a single mother of 3 who drives a minivan. She never even thought about running for office, but the night that Donald Trump was elected, she changed her mind. She was taught by Elizabeth Warren and worked for Kamala Harris. When she ran for Congress, she knew it was not going to be easy due to the fact that her county had never been won by a Democrat before, however, her former teacher, Warren, and boss, Harris, both supported her.
Porter is truly an inspiration to all and evidence to the notion that “females are fierce!”
Pictured is Sassy Girl Weekly's CEO and Katie Porter on a Zoom call.
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