Katie Porter shook up California politics when she flipped a red seat blue in the heart of Orange County in 2018. Since then, she has been trying to shake up Congress, too.

She was elected as part of the “blue wave” that saw Democrats retake the House of Representatives when Donald Trump was President. 

Since then, she has tried to use her background as lawyer and consumer protection expertise to “kind of juice Washington to work for California families, rather than to have the kind of wheels here turn on behalf of big corporations,” she told Spectrum News in a recent interview in the House Oversight Committee hearing room.

It’s a room that has made Porter a familiar face, taking corporate and government officials to task with white board in hand in moments that have been shared repeatedly on social media.

“I am used to having students who are not always prepared who don’t always want to give, they don’t always know the correct answer,” Porter said. “It was really about trying to invite the American people to see that I was asking the questions that were on their mind, and to really hold the witness to account not to account to me to account to the American people for giving an answer.”. 

“This room is one of my favorite places in the world,” she added.

Porter says it’s here that her proudest moment in her congressional career happened. It was March 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, when she grilled Robert Redfield, then the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about the cost of COVID tests.

“You need to make a commitment to the American people so they come in to get tested. You can operationalize the payment structure,” she pressed. Redfield, complimenting the congresswoman’s relentless line of questioning, said he would.

“Excellent. Did everybody in America hear that? You are eligible to go get tested for coronavirus,” said Porter triumphantly, and even in that moment, she did not know the worst of the pandemic was yet to come.

“It’s a great example that the solution to every problem, sometimes it’s a new law, sometimes it is getting the wheels of government, the people of government to — pick up the tools that we have, and use them,” Porter told Spectrum News. “He made that pledge to the American people, the number of tests for COVID that people were receiving skyrocketed in this country. And so I am proud to have been part of saving lives along with the men and women, the people in our health care community.”

But Porter’s time in Congress has not always been rosy. She’s had trouble adapting to life as a member of Congress (“Washington really does have a culture I think I was often suspicious about,” she admits), while being thousands of miles away from her three children. She’s also faced complaints from some former staffers that she was an abusive boss. They posted anonymously on the social media account ‘Dear White Staffers’ that Porter was rage-prone or would disparage staffers. One accused her of making racist comments. Spectrum News has not validated these accusations, but did ask Porter about them.

“I have a top-notch staff. They work really hard. They have high standards for what we do as public servants. And I’m really grateful for all of their help,” Porter said. 

“During my time in Congress, I have definitely become more intentional about expressing that gratitude, about making sure that — this is a tough job. And I think you’ve seen as a reporter on the Hill, we’ve seen a lot of retirements, we’ve seen the environment here, I think across the Hill, really degrade. And so I think it’s extra important. And I’ve been much more intentional as time has gone on about how do I create that right environment? How do I make sure that we’re all weathering, doing this tough job and delivering for California, knowing that I appreciate them they’re part of my team, and that I really value — I could not do what I do without them.”

Porter says she is proud of two bills she sponsored that became law, both of which deal with paying for mental health treatment. Her Mental Health Parity Compliance Act requires health insurance companies to provide coverage for mental health care, and her Closing Health Coverage Gaps for Public Servants Act closed a loophole that allowed insurance plans to sidestep providing mental health coverage to first responders and government workers.

“There’s definitely more willingness on Capitol Hill to talk about mental health both as a personal struggle for people but also as a problem that needs to be solved. I think the thing I’m most delighted about with mental health is the actual results I’ve been able to deliver for constituents,” Porter said late last year.

Despite some bumps in the road, Porter has worked to carve her own path in Washington: she refuses to take corporate PAC money and has proposed to prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks. She also refuses to participate in the widely accepted practice of earmarking - money lawmakers direct to pet programs and projects outside of the normal appropriations process. The spending was banned because of abuses, but it was revived three years ago with reforms. By many accounts, the reforms have worked, but Porter says she is unconvinced. 

“I appreciate the efforts at creating more transparency of these. The truth is, we need to be making the decisions that are best for Californians in Congress,” said Porter. “I am not a structural engineer, I don’t know which bridge needs to be repaired to keep Californians safe. And so what we’ve seen time and time, again, is politicians directing earmarks to mayors and cities that endorse them to nonprofits where family members are on the board.”

The decision not to participate in the widely accepted practice of earmarks has been a battle cry of Porter’s. It was prominently featured in one of her campaign ads, and cost her the potential endorsement of Rep. Lou Correa, also of Orange County. He instead backed Rep. Adam Schiff, and said the decision was made in part because of the money that Schiff could bring back to Correa’s constituents if elected to the Senate. She’s received just one endorsement from a fellow California Democrat: Rep. Robert Garcia, a freshman lawmaker who has called Porter a mentor.

“I think Katie is a true fighter and warrior in our state. I think she stands up to the big banks to corporate power. She understands the top issues are housing affordability and climate change. And so I think that she represents someone that will shake up the Senate in Washington,” Garcia told Spectrum News when he endorsed her in October.

“I remember when I ran for Congress, there’s one member of Congress that endorsed me on day one, and that was Katie Porter. And I think she saw in me someone that’s willing also to take on power when necessary and be the voice of the people.”

When the war broke out between Israel and Hamas, Porter initially called for “humanitarian pauses,” as did many of her colleagues. “As the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself, we must show leadership to reduce harm, including civilian casualties, to Palestinians and facilitate the immediate delivery of sufficient humanitarian aid,” she said in a statement on Nov. 2. “Consistent with these goals, the United States should work with our allies on a humanitarian pause to allow civilians to receive necessary aid.”

But on Dec. 18, Porter went further, calling on the Biden administration to “encourage a lasting bilateral ceasefire that brings remaining hostages home, secures Israel’s safety, removes Hamas from operational control of Gaza, and invests in creating a better economic and political architecture for Palestinians in Gaza.”

When asked about the change, Porter said the conflict has gone on too long.

“In the wake of the horrible Hamas attacks, terrorist attacks on Israel, it was obviously very important that Israel be able to defend itself, that it be able to secure its borders. We had members of Congress calling for a ceasefire when they were terrorists still on the loose in Israel. So I think it was important to allow that to happen. I think Israel was trying to and is trying to root out Hamas to stop terror, something that I think they’re an ally of the United States in trying to do,” she explained. 

“I was very heartened by the humanitarian pause. I think it was important. It also allowed time for the United States and other allies to try to understand why can’t we get more aid to Gaza, to the families of Gaza, to the children of Gaza, more quickly — both medical aid, food aid and others. When that humanitarian pause ended, and the conflict ratcheted back up, I felt like it was time to take a stronger stand.”

Porter has spent the last five years building up her political acumen, finding her voice in a place that has become more and more polarized since she first arrived on Capitol Hill. And as she tries to edge out her competition in the race to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Porter said she is more determined than ever to “shake up how Washington has been doing business,” even if it isn’t necessarily the popular approach.

“People here are concerned about changing the institution, even as we see the decline in confidence in Congress. And so I think I’ve learned how to sort of be prepared for that resistance and how to think about meeting it in a really thoughtful, respectful way, recognizing that most of my colleagues are doing their best to serve California, to serve the country,” said Porter of her approach. 

“Sometimes loving an institution, loving democracy, I think sometimes means being willing to restructure it.”

Click here to read our interview with Rep. Adam Schiff

Click here to read our interview with Rep. Barbara Lee