Embattled Congresswoman Katie Hill (D-Calif.) has announced her resignation from Capitol Hill after the revelations of alleged inappropriate sexual relations with both campaign and office staffers.
The 32-year-old Democrat had initially denied any wrongdoing after the allegations first surfaced, which included an alleged three-way relationship with her then-husband and her campaign finance manager. Numerous nude photos of her were released, including one with her and her 22-year-old female Hill staffer, as well as another photo of her smoking a bong and displaying a Nazi tattoo.
Hill originally lashed out at the release of the photos as an invasion of her privacy, and has tried to have the photos suppressed on social media to cover up her scandal. She eventually acknowledged the relationship with her campaign staffer, although this affair was outside of Congress’s purview for investigation since it took place before her election.
A House Ethics Committee investigation was launched on October 23rd to investigate her subsequent affair with one of her Capitol Hill staffers, and Hill announced her resignation just four days later on Twitter. In her statement, she described the move to resign as “the hardest thing I have ever had to do,” but added that she believed it to be “the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country.”
Hill was a freshman member of Congress, having been elected to represent the 25th congressional district in 2018. After narrowly advancing to the runoff by defeating three other Democrats, she unseated incumbent Republican Steve Knight by a stunning nine-point margin, in one of the many upsets in California last year.
Having served for less than 10 months, hers is one of the shortest congressional tenures in recent memory. A special election will be held to replace her, and with the cloud of her sex scandal and resignation hanging over the district, it is set to be one of the most competitive congressional races in California and across the country next year.