Rep. Katie Porter serves Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin his pink slip during hearing
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared Wednesday in front of the House Financial Services Committee for a hearing on the handling of American taxpayer money during our current economic and public health crisis. Many Americans would like to know why Mnuchin is trying to sabotage the economy by cutting off the emergency lending programs and clawing back $455 billion into the General Fund. This move would force future Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to negotiate the already-legislated use of CARES Act money with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has tried to nicely discourage this ill-advised and illegal move. After Donald Trump and the Republican Party insisted on having no strings attached to how they blackmailed distributed funds to people and companies in dire need of financial help, Mnuchin is now attempting to attach all sorts of strings before he leaves the office in January.
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California is no stranger to making powerful men look as craven and pedestrian as they really are. Her very simplified way of exposing the hypocrisies of not simply this administration, but the leaders of the corrupt industries leeching off of the American public, is very effective. It exposes the hypocrisies and corruption of those in power while also exposing how mediocre these (usually) men are. On Wednesday, it was Mnuchin’s integrity’s turn to get served a pink slip. Mnuchin was on the defensive quite quickly, after Rep. Porter explained the logic Mnuchin seems to be working with in his attempt to override the use of the remaining CARES Act stimulus package. But since people like Steve Mnuchin only get ahead when no one stands up to their transparently mediocre minds, they are frequently unable to handle themselves when they are called out on their activities. This is when things heated up, and this is when Rep. Porter shines.
Mnuchin attempted to argue he wasn’t asking for $450+ billion, but Rep. Porter wanted to know one thing: Is it the year 2026? It’s a simple question, but an important one legally. The CARES Act, a law written and passed by the Legislative branch and signed into law by the Executive branch, stipulates that whatever funds are left over from the coronavirus pandemic are not allowed to be moved back to the Treasury until “on or after Jan. 1, 2026.” Now, you don’t have to be a lawyer to understand that the year 2026 is not 2020, or even 2021. And after pouting a bit, Mnuchin moped that he knew it wasn’t 2026, complaining that it was “ridiculous to ask me that question and waste our time.”
Rep. Porter explained to Mr. Mnuchin that she was only wasting his time because he was insisting on “play-acting to be a lawyer.” Hehe. That stung The Lego Movie producer, and he interrupted Porter to say that he had “plenty of lawyers” at the Treasury. Okey dokey! Get nice and comfortable, maybe pour yourself a drink (if you like to have a nice drink), and put on some cozy slippers, because that is when this exchange took place.
REP. KATIE PORTER: Secretary Mnuchin. Are you in fact a lawyer?
TREASURY SEC. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Ah, I do not have a legal degree. I have lawyers that report to me.
After asking Fed Chair Powell if he was a lawyer—Powell was indeed a former lawyer—she turned back to Mnuchin to explain how he was arguing law with a lawyer. Ready for Mnuchin to expose his tiny brain and big ego—all at the same time?
SEC. MNUCHIN: Are you a lawyer?
In fact, Rep. Katie Porter is a professor of law (on leave) from the University of California, Irvine. She graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude, which means she is totally a lawyer. Steven Mnuchin is barely like a Treasury secretary, let alone a lawyer. These guys can’t leave the White House soon enough.
Porter begins around the 1:15:00 mark. Enjoy.