Democratic leader House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) has addressed the abrupt resignation of fellow California Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who announced her decision Sunday amid growing scrutiny over her alleged affair with a campaign staffer and allegations of another affair with a congressional staffer after she took office — the first to which she has admitted and the second she has denied.
“Congresswoman Katie Hill came to Congress with a powerful commitment to her community and a bright vision for the future, and has made a great contribution as a leader of the Freshman Class,” Pelosi said in a brief statement released Sunday. “She has acknowledged errors in judgment that made her continued service as a Member untenable. We must ensure a climate of integrity and dignity in the Congress, and in all workplaces.”
Hill resigned Sunday after the House Ethics Committee announced earlier in the week that it was launching an ethics investigation into allegations that Hill had an affair with a congressional staffer in violation of House Rules.
“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Katie Hill may have engaged in a sexual relationship with an individual on her congressional staff, in violation of House Rule XXIII, clause 18(a),” the committee said in a statement Wednesday. “The Committee, pursuant to Committee Rule 18(a), has begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding the allegations.”
The committee’s announcement followed Hill’s admission to an affair with a campaign staffer after a series of reports and the circulation of photographic evidence of Hill and the staffer in sexually charged situations. Hill and her husband filed for divorce after the alleged affair(s), and she is now accusing him of mounting a “smear campaign” against her.
As first reported by Politico on Sunday, with pressure mounting, Hill decided that it was time to step down. In a statement issued Sunday, Hill painted herself as largely a victim in the situation.
The decision to resign, she suggested, was primarily motivated by her desire to protect those who support her from being “subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation.”
“It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress,” Hill tweeted along with an attached statement Sunday. “This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I believe it is the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country.”
“I can longer allow my community, family, friends, staff, supporters, and especially the children who look up to me as a role model, to suffer this unprecedented brand of cruelty,” said Hill in a statement posted on social media Sunday. “For the mistakes made along the way and the people who have been hurt, I am so sorry, and I am learning — I am not perfect person and never pretended to be.”
Below is the full text of Hill’s resignation statement issued Sunday:
This is what needs to happen so that the good people who supported me will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation. Having private photos of personal moments weaponized against me has been an appalling invasion of my privacy. It’s also illegal, and we are currently pursuing all of our available legal options.”
However, I know that as long as I am in Congress, we’ll live fearful of what might come next and how much it will hurt. That’s a feeling I know all too well. It’s the feeling I decided to leave when I left my marriage, and one I will not tolerate being forced upon others. I can longer allow my community, family, friends, staff, supporters, and especially the children who look up to me as a role model, to suffer this unprecedented brand of cruelty.
For the mistakes made along the way and the people who have been hurt, I am so sorry, and I am learning — I am not perfect person and never pretended to be. It’s one of the things that made my race so special. I hope it showed others that they do belong, that their voice does matter, and that they do have a place in this country. That is something I believe with all my heart.
Those of you who know me personally know that I’m a fighter. And it’s thanks to countless other fighters who supported me that we were able to stand up for the ideals we believe in. Now, my fight is going to be to defeat this type of exploitation that so many women are victims to and which will keep countless women and girls from running for office or entering public light.