Katie Bar the Door

You may have seen part of this video, where Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA-45) questions Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, trying to get him to commit to using a little-known feature of the law that would allow him to help protect...well, pretty much everybody.  But it's the whole thing, her meticulous, unrelenting question, that is majestic.  And if you haven't seen any of it, it's a Must Watch, only about five minutes.

By the way, as much as Dr. Redfield has received his share of criticism for his wavering, I actually think he deserved praise.  As a political appointee, he could have stood by the contention that he's part of an administration and couldn't commit to anything, just because he was being questioned.  Or he could have had his ego rubbed the wrong way, gotten his back up, and refused to give in to her questioning, no matter how proper.  Instead, he acknowledged she was right, said he admired her work, and agreed to make the commitment.

This isn't the first time that the new Congresswoman has provided such breathtaking questioning of a witness (which is what Dr. Redfield is acknowledging to her in his final response).  Only the latest.  It's worth nothing that Rep. Porter's law professor in college was...Elizabeth Warren.  (In an interview, Porter was asked what kind of a teacher Elizabeth Warren was.  "Terrifying," was her answer.)

There's something else to keep in mind here.about Katie Porter.  One shouldn’t forget that she’s not from a safe liberal district, but rather represents a traditionally VERY Republican district in California.  And the ONLY reason she’s in Congress is because of the Blue Wave in 2018 that got her elected by a small margin.  As a result of that, she has been able to work on behalf of helping not just her own constituency, but everybody.