New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came to the defense of ousted Democratic California Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned this week after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with a female campaign worker following the leak of several sexually explicit photos.
Hill, 32, admitted to being in a yearlong three-way relationship with a female 22-year-old campaign worker and her husband, Kenny Heslep, from whom she is currently separated. Photos of Hill with the aide were shared with conservative website RedState and showed the freshman congresswoman naked brushing the hair of the younger woman.
Another photo showed the two women kissing, and several screen captures of text exchanges provided to RedState seemed to back up the claims that Hill, Heslep, and the 22-year-old were engaged in a polyamorous relationship.
More explicit images of Hill were released by the Daily Mail sometime later, including a naked photo of a tattooed Hill holding a bong that was reportedly used on a website that presented as a “wife-sharing” thread titled, “WouldYouF—MyWife?”
Hill was also accused of having a sexual relationship with a male employee, her legislative director Graham Kelly, which launched an ethics investigation into the congresswoman. Hill denied the affair with Kelly but announced her resignation from Congress on Oct. 27. “It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress,” Hill said. “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.”
Hill also indicated that her estranged husband had been abusive to her and was likely behind the leaked photos, a claim that has been backed up by her family. Following her resignation, Hill blamed Republican opponents and “political operators” for working to end her career in Congress. “This coordinated campaign carried out by the right-wing media and Republican opponents, enabling and perpetuating my husband’s abuse by providing him a platform is disgusting and unforgivable,” she said in a speech.
Lamenting her fellow Democratic freshmen’s departure, Ocasio-Cortez asserted that her gender dictated the outcome. “This doesn’t happen to male members in the same way — revenge porn in this respect,” the New York congresswoman said on Thursday after Hill officially cast her last vote on the House floor. “It’s horrific.”
Ocasio-Cortez added that Hill’s departure would “of course” discourage younger women from seeking political office. “I don’t think we’re really talking about how targeted and serious this is,” she added. “We’re talking about a major crime … being committed against her.”
Male members of Congress and other high political offices have also been stripped of their political careers due to sex scandals. New York Rep. Anthony Weiner was famously stripped of his political career after he inadvertently shared a photo of his crotch on his Twitter account. He had intended to only send it to one woman who indicated that she was offended by the photograph. Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011, and after an unsuccessful bid for mayor in New York City, he admitted to continuing to “sext” multiple women after he left Congress. He was convicted of sending sexually explicit photos to a teenage girl he knew to be 15 years old and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.
Texas Rep. Joe Barton was also shamed out of his political career in 2017 after self-taken naked photos of the GOP congressman were shared on social media. Barton admitted that the photos were of him and did not seek reelection at the end of his term.
Other members of Congress did not blame a gender bias for Hill’s demise but noted that female lawmakers are held to a higher standard. “There’s always been a double standard,” Florida Rep. Donna Shalala said. “So what’s new? But we know that when we come into public life. We know the standards for us are going to be different. And that we have to reach to a higher point than the men do. But I won’t make any excuses for her. She admitted that what she did was not appropriate. I just feel sad for her.”
