Katie Porter denied firing a staffer for passing on Covid-19 to her after a testy text message exchange emerged that seemed to imply otherwise.
The Twitter and Instagram account Dear White Staffers, popular for gossip on Capitol Hill, shared a text exchange between the California Democrat and a staffer with the caption:’ VIBE CHECK: Rep. Katie Porter fires staffer after both test positive for COVID. Full texts from the Congresswoman firing the staffer via text. Shared with permission from staffer.’
Screenshots of text messages between Porter, D-Calif., and former staffer Sasha Georgiades where Porter tells Georgiades ‘you gave me Covid’ and does not acknowledge the staffer’s apology or her explanation that she had not tested for the virus because she was preoccupied with the death of a friend.
The text exchange occurred in July, and Porter’s office said the staffer was working on a two-year fellowship at the time that had long been scheduled to end in August. Georgiades also confirmed to Politico she was not fired but had been planning to leave.
Story by Morgan Phillips, U.S. Political Reporter
