WASHINGTON _ Rep. Katie Hill, D-Calif., announced Sunday that she would resign from Congress after allegations that she engaged in affairs with a congressional aide and a campaign staff member became public earlier this month.
Hill announced the resignation in a letter to constituents, saying she was stepping down "with a broken heart." The letter did not specify when the resignation would take effect.
"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 wrote.
"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.
"For the mistakes made along the way and the people who have been hurt, I am sorry, and I am learning I am not a perfect person and never pretended to be," Hill wrote.
The resignation marks a dramatic fall for Hill, who was elected to Congress as part of the "blue wave" that allowed Democrats to take the House in 2018. She had been a regular presence on cable news shows and was chosen by her fellow freshmen as their representative to the House leadership. That position gave her a seat at the table with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and some of the biggest names in the national party.
Hill's prominence began even before her election. As a candidate, she drew the kind of attention that most first-timers can only dream of: profiles in national newspapers, major fundraisers and social media attention. Vice News even spotlighted her campaign in a series of mini-documentaries.
The fall came just as quickly.
Last weekend, the conservative website RedState published a series of articles alleging that Hill had engaged in relationships with a member of her campaign staff and the House staffer. Hill denied the relationship with the House employee, which would be a violation of House rules, but did not deny the relationship with the campaign staff member.
On Wednesday, in a letter to constituents, Hill again denied the alleged relationship with the House staff member but acknowledged she was involved in a separate relationship with a member of her campaign staff "during the final tumultuous years of my abusive marriage."
"I know that even a consensual relationship with a subordinate is inappropriate, but I still allowed it to happen despite my better judgment," the letter read.
The House Ethics Committee announced it was investigating whether Hill "may have engaged in a sexual relationship with an individual on her congressional staff." House rules were changed last year to prohibit relationships between members and their employees.
Hill also said she had contacted U.S. Capitol Police after intimate photos of her and another person were published by RedState. Photos of her were also published by a British tabloid.
Hill, who is in divorce proceedings with her husband of nine years, Kenneth Heslep, said Heslep "seems determined to try to humiliate me."
In the letter announcing her resignation, Hill said she would continue to pursue legal options over the nude photos posted online without her consent. The personal photos were "weaponized" against her and an "appalling invasion" of her privacy, she wrote.
