{"id":14377,"date":"2019-10-28T16:03:33","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T16:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/28\/scandal-sinks-rising-dem-star-on-seapower-subcommittee\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:59:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:59:39","slug":"scandal-sinks-rising-dem-star-on-seapower-subcommittee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/28\/scandal-sinks-rising-dem-star-on-seapower-subcommittee\/","title":{"rendered":"Scandal sinks rising Dem star on Seapower Subcommittee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Freshman Rep. Katie Hill, a rising Democratic star in the House, announced her resignation amid an ethics probe<\/a>, saying explicit private photos of her with a campaign staffer had been \u201cweaponized\u201d by her husband and political operatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The California Democrat, 32, had been hand-picked for a coveted leadership seat. But in recent days, compromising photos of Hill and purported text messages from her to a campaign staffer surfaced online in a right-wing publication and a British tabloid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi <\/a>said Hill had acknowledged \u201cerrors in judgment\u201d that Pelosi said made her continued service in Congress \u201cuntenable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this Nov. 6, 2018 photo, Katie Hill, then a Democratic Party candidate from California’s 25th Congressional district, talks to a reporter after voting in her hometown of Agua Dulce, Calif., a lightly populated expanse of grassy hills and horse ranchettes north of Los Angeles. \n (Marcio Jose Sanchez\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The House ethics committee had launched an investigation into whether Hill had an inappropriate relationship with an aide in her congressional office, which is prohibited under House rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hill, one of the few openly bisexual women in Congress, has denied that and vowed to fight a \u201csmear\u201d campaign waged by a husband she called abusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But her relationship with the campaign aide became a concern for House Democrats who have made equality in the workplace a particular priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, after apologizing for the relationship with a subordinate, Hill announced she was stepping aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress,” she wrote in a statement released Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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,” she added. “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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hill’s statement provided no details on that or when she would step down. Hill’s office and campaign provided no additional public comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pelosi, D-Calif., praised Hill in a statement Sunday for bringing \u201ca powerful commitment to her community and a bright vision for the future\u201d to the House but added: \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pelosi picked Hill for a coveted leadership seat. Hill had also been named vice chair of the powerful House Oversight Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hill’s abrupt fall came after a blazing rise in which she won the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County, part of a rout that saw GOP House members driven out of their seats in Southern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was elected by 9 percentage points last year, ousting two-term Republican Rep. Stephen Knight and capturing the district for her party for the first time since 1990. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton carried the district in 2016 by 7 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hill’s campaign had raised a healthy $2.2 million so far this year, putting her on track for a strong reelection bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing the more than 4-in-10 district voters from minority groups, Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., who heads House Democrats’ campaign committee, said there was “no doubt” her party would hold the district next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., chairman of the House GOP campaign arm, said Republicans “look forward to winning back this seat.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent days, Hill\u2019s Los Angeles-area constituents were wrestling with questions about who might have been wronged, how much it matters and whether any punishment was warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hill, celebrated as a face of millennial change in Congress, said in her statement that she had no choice but to step down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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,” Hill said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can no 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She apologized to “people who have been hurt.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She’s asked U.S. Capitol Police to investigate potential legal violations for posting and distributing the photos online without her consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\t