Katie Porter Goes Viral for Reading This Book During Chaotic Speaker Fight

Amid a tense week of GOP squabbling over who would become the next House speaker, Democratic Representative Katie Porter transformed into an internet darling over her choice in literature.

On Friday, the California lawmaker was pictured in the lower chamber reading the book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson.

Over the past week, a relatively small faction of hardline Republicans complicated the race for the next House speaker. Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, ultimately secured a win in the 15th round of voting, but not before making some concessions to his ultraconservative colleagues.

Lawmakers on both sides of the partisan divide were perturbed by the holdouts. One GOP Congress member, Mike Rogers of Alabama, even lunged at Florida Representative Matt Gaetz for his refusal to play ball.

Amid Republican in-fighting, though, Porter apparently tried her best to find her Zen—picking up some fans in the process.

"You win Katie Porter. You win," tweeted Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott, along with a photo of the lawmaker reading the book.

Others referred to Porter as an "icon" or applauded her by saying, "bravo." Popular left-wing blogger Brooklyn Dad Defiant, meanwhile, tweeted, "Katie Porter, y'all," with four laughing emojis.

It's not just the title's messaging that earned Porter praise on social media. The congresswoman also appeared to coordinate her outfit with the novel, donning a blouse that was a near-perfect match to the cover's bright orange hue.

Some Twitter users seemed to see themselves in the Democratic representative, with Georgetown professor Dan Moynihan writing: "Katie Porter is all of us."

Former NBCUniversal senior executive Mike Sington, meanwhile, asked a salient hypothetical question.

"Is it possible to love Katie Porter even more?" he tweeted.

Manson, the author, weighed in with his own take on Saturday morning. He retweeted the picture of Porter holding his book, along with the caption: "We made it into Congress fam."

Reached for additional comment, Manson wrote to Newsweek on Saturday: "That's the most productive thing Congress has done all year."

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** dominated bestsellers lists following its 2016 release, and recently received the Hollywood treatment, having been turned into a feature film. Critics have lauded it as a "generation-defining self-help guide" that argues the key to happiness isn't found in trying to stay positive at all costs, but rather in getting "better at handling adversity."

Newsweek reached out to Porter's office for comment.

Updated 1/7/2023, 2:02 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from author Mark Manson.