U.S Democratic representative for the state of California Katie Hill announced her resignation on Twitter.
Hill's resignation comes after sexually explicit photos of her came to light. She was also accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female campaign staffer.
The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation regarding the accusations against Hill.
She would later admit to having a sexual relationship with a female campaign staffer, prior to her becoming a congresswoman. Although she had promised to cooperate with the Ethics Committee in their investigation, her resignation effectively marked its end.
In her resignation letter, Hill revealed her next steps after stepping down. "Now, my fight is going to be to defeat this type of exploitation that so many women are victims to," Hill says.
Representative Hill's rise in Congress
Katie Hill, a freshman in the Congress, won in the 2018 midterm elections, where she beat incumbent Republican Steve Knight. As the Congress' first openly bisexual member, she became a rallying point for Liberals.
Hill also campaigned as the "Millennial Candidate" during her campaign, appealing to the youth sector. With a lot of momentum behind her, she became as freshman class representatives for the Democratic caucus, along with US Representative Joe Neguse.
Scandal brought to light
However, Hill's political career came to a screeching halt when a RedState reported on her allegedly inappropriate sexual relationship with a female staffer. Immediately after, elicit photos of her with the female staffer in question arose. RedState also published text messages between Hill and the female staffer, showing messages where Hill was breaking away from their relationship.
The freshman representative decried the scandal as an attack by her estranged husband, who she claims is doing everything he can to destroy her public image. She says that political elements are then using her husband's actions as part of a smear campaign.
The sharing of elicit photos without consent is illegal and may constitute to revenge porn, something that Hill has said she'll be fighting against now that she's stepped down. 40 states, including California and Washington, have laws against cyber-harassment, which includes the publishing of revenge porn.
Emergency Elections
The House's rules require a special election to take place to replace vacant slots.
Article I, Section 2, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution also reads: "When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies."
This is in sharp contrast with the Senate, where the governor could appoint a replacement to the former senator's state.
In light of Hill's resignation, Democratic California assemblywoman Christy Smith has announced her intentions to run for the special elections. The Latino Victory advocacy group is also recruiting a candidate to run for the seat.
On the other side of the fence, Steve Knight is seeking to reclaim his lost position through the special elections. Former Trump advisor George Papadopoulos, who's currently facing a prison sentence for lying to federal agents, hinted on Twitter that he's interested in replacing Hill.
