A retired California Democrat slammed his former colleague Katie Porter as a privileged "liar" who is "unfit for the US Senate" in a scathing opinion piece on Monday.
Former Rep. Harley Rouda described how Porter, who is running to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat, had lied about him and his family repeatedly in her recent memoir and had bashed him as an out-of-touch "rich guy" who prompted her "outrage."
But Rouda argued it was actually Porter who was lying to voters about her own "privilege."
"Katie Porter built her brand around being a minivan driving, single mom, but the truth of the matter is she’s a boarding school, Harvard, and Yale grad. Katie had more choices and more privilege than virtually everyone else," he wrote in his Monday op-ed for the Orange County Register.
"She lives in a deeply subsidized home – worth about two million dollars – courtesy of UCI and California taxpayers, because she is on 'leave from being a professor,'" he continued.
The Democrat accused Porter of being a hypocrite who lied to voters about rejecting donations from special interest groups as well.
"Porter boasts about taking on powerful special interests – using her whiteboard prop to scold executives – but after pledging to reject their campaign contributions, she ‘has accepted tens of thousands of dollars worth of contributions from powerful people with influence at the highest echelons of Wall Street,' he wrote, quoting a recent investigative report from The Daily Beast.
"Talk about hypocrisy. Her whiteboard everywoman act is a fake. She is, at heart, an accomplished actor who stages classless photo opps on the House floor," Rouda slammed. "But she doesn’t want you to see her that way. Instead, she’s the victim. Always."
Rouda accused Porter again of lying to voters and about his family as he made his final pitch to voters to reject the Democratic "bully" for Senate.
"Like your own staffers have said, you’re in this for power and position, the ability to bully, and be in the spotlight. Your book revealed your true nature. Your minivan is a prop, and your life is of your choosing. As they say, you made your bed. But Californians still have a choice," he wrote.
"If you’re not Katie Porter, I hope you vote for someone with character, stability, and wisdom. To me, Katie’s not that person, she’s no better than a bully. A bully with a white board who is in this for power and her ego. The last thing we need is more self-centered politicians like Katie Porter," he continued.
Rep. Porter's office did not return a request for comment.
Before Porter announced her run for Senate last year, former staffers came forward with complaints of a toxic work culture and accusations she had made racist remarks.
Rouda served as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district from 2019 to 2021. He ran to fill Porter's open House seat last year but dropped out of the congressional race after suffering a fall and brain injury.
