Following the mantra "there are no Republican potholes or Democratic potholes," Porcari is well respected by congressional members on both sides of the aisle. Internally at the department, Porcari has been instrumental in raising employee morale and elevating professional standards. In 2008, USDOT ranked last on the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in Federal Government, and by his last week of service, the department rose to 8th. Additionally, not one of the Agency's subcomponents was listed among the study's rankings in 2009; in 2013 the Department’s Surface Transportation Board maintained its first-place ranking among small agencies, and the Department’s Federal Highway Administration climbed to fifth place among the 300 subcomponent agencies, improving on its ninth-place ranking in 2012.