Rep. Katie Porter Kicked Back And Read ‘The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck’ While Republicans Brawled On The House Floor And People Loved It

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Kevin McCarthy was finally voted in as Speaker of the House. It only took four days, and 15 votes. The former House minority leader, who had spent the last two years appeasing the extremist wing of his party, won by a narrow margin after winning over a small but powerful cadre who refused to let him in. It must have been boring for most of representatives, who had to sit there for days, awaiting cooler heads to prevail. But one member found a good way to kill the time.

On Friday, hours before McCarthy belatedly clinched the gig, California Democratic representative Katie Porter was spotted leaning back in her chair reading a book. Which book? The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, the bestseller by Mark Manson. Manson’s book, which is both an anti-self help book that’s also a self-help book, preaches the gospel of ignoring the things you can’t control and focusing on those you can. For instance, if you’re a Democratic House representative and the Republican side is self-imploding? It’s best of your mental health to let it burn.

People observing the House mishegoss from afar seemed to relate to Porter’s stance.

Porter’s chill attitude contrasted nicely with the Republicans, who at one point almost got into a fight.

Porter, like most Democrats, seemed to spend the last week doing little but killing time as Republicans duked it out, proving that they’re more interesting in in-fighting than governing. It’s bound to be a, uh, interesting two years in Congress, although presumably the biggest drama queen is resigning, as he promised, right?