Democratic Rep. Katie Porter was seen peacefully reading a book amid chaotic scenes in the House Chamber yesterday as Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers was restrained when he lunged toward fellow Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Porter sat in a bright orange dress as she appeared to be reading the first chapters of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. The color of its dust cover matched both her attire and the name of the district she represents – Orange County.
The book, which has the subtitle, A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, is a bestselling self-help manual by American blogger Mark Manson that advocates letting go of the things that are out of one’s control.
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter was seen peacefully reading a book amid chaotic scenes in the House Chamber yesterday
Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama is restrained after yelling at Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida
These were the scenes on the floor on January 6 – the fourth and final day of voting for a house speaker which ended in Kevin McCarthy finally being elected after 15 rounds of voting.
Porter addressed the Republican in-fighting in the run-up to McCarthy’s protracted election later on Twitter, saying: ‘The 15th time’s the charm, apparently.’
‘Americans deserve more than House Republicans’ inability to govern,’ she added.
Her color co-ordination earlier in the day caused some users to accuse her staging the scene and one to call her an attention seeker.
The move was divisive however, as many of her supporters rallied behind her. Democratic social media activist Jack Cocchiarella labeled her an ‘icon.’
Another Twitter-user wrote: ‘Freaking love Katie Porter…just doing her thing while the children on the other side of the House are fighting.’
However, one person joked that the title of the book could also be perceived as pertaining to a recent scandal she was embroiled in after being accused of ignoring reports of sexual misconduct in her office.
‘Rep. Katie Porter reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”,’ they said. ‘Which, according to former staff, is also her attitude towards sexual harassment complaints in her office.’
Porter addressed the Republican in-fighting in the run-up to McCarthy’s protracted election later on Twitter, saying: ‘The 15th time’s the charm, apparently’
Democratic social media activist Jack Cocchiarella labeled Porter an ‘icon’
Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama is restrained after yelling at Matt Gaetz of Florida
‘That was easy, huh?’ McCarthy began in his victory speech – moments after Rogers had to be held back from attacking Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
The two Republicans almost came to blows over Gaetz’s refusal to back McCarthy during the 14th vote, costing him that contest.
The California Republican immediately walked up to Gaetz and Boebert, presumably with the intent of persuading them to change their ‘present’ votes to ‘yes.’
That’s when Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama approached and appeared to lunge at Gaetz, causing Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina to dramatically hold him back.
In another striking photo taken in the House on Friday, Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia could be seen trying to pass her phone over to Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana so he could answer to Trump as to why he was refusing to vote for McCarthy.
She reportedly went up to Rosendale and told him that Trump was on the phone and that Rosendale needed to speak with him. ‘Don’t you ever do me like that,’ Rosendale reportedly told her.
Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia could be seen trying to pass her phone over to Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana so he could answer to Trump as to why he was refusing to vote for McCarthy
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., gestures towards the newly installed nameplate at his office after he was sworn in as speaker of the 118th Congress in Washington
McCarthy said that the issues he will face head on include the national debt and the ‘Chinese Communist Party’
Rep. Katie Porter denied firing a staffer for giving her COVID-19 after a text message exchange emerged
Porter was also accused at the end of December of firing a staffer for giving her COVID-19 – an allegation she denied.
Screenshots of text messages claimed to be between Porter and former staffer Sasha Georgiades suggest Porter told Georgiades ‘you gave me Covid’ and did not acknowledge the staffer’s apology or her explanation that she had not tested for the virus because she was preoccupied with the death of a friend.
The text exchange occurred in July, and Porter’s office said the staffer was working on a two-year fellowship at the time that had long been scheduled to end in August. Georgiades also confirmed to Politico she was not fired but had been planning to leave.
‘Congresswoman Porter was informing her that she would work from home for the remaining three weeks of her fellowship,’ Porter spokesperson Jordan Wong told DailyMail.com
‘Why did you not follow office protocol on testing? It’s really disappointing,’ Porter said in July. ‘I’m terribly sorry. You’re right I should have done better. Just because I felt okay in the moment doesn’t mean I was,’ the staffer wrote back.
‘Sasha — I cannot allow you back in the office given your failure to follow office policies. Cody will be in touch anout (sic) having your personal effects shipped or delivered to your home, and will lay out your remote work schedule and responsibilities for the last few weeks,’ Porter said.
Georgiades went on to thank Porter and tell her: ‘I hate to have disappointed you in the manner, as I know it isn’t an excuse I had found out a friend from the navy had been murdered and my head wasn’t in the right place. Not an excuse but the reasoning for the lack of forethought. I appreciate everything this office has done for me.’
Porter shot back: ‘Well you gave me covid. In 25 months, it took you not following the rules to get me sick. My children have nobody to care for them.’
Georgiades was a Wounded Warrior Fellow who worked as a veteran and service member liaison in Porter’s office. She told Politico she was not fired but was effectively banned from the office after the incident.
