CNN enthusiastic at Katie Hill possibly running for office again: Don't you want to 'get back in the arena?'
Hill resigned from Congress in 2019 amid ethics probe
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN appeared enthusiastic at the prospect of a congressional comeback for former Rep. Katie Hill, D-Calif., on Monday, with hosts wondering if she wanted to get "back in the arena" and touting she hadn't ruled it out.
Hill, who resigned in 2019 during an ethics probe into an alleged affair with one of her staffers, discussed her push to make "revenge porn" a federal crime on CNN's morning show "New Day." Co-host Brianna Keilar asked if she would run for office again, to which Hill responded she hadn't "written anything off."
"I need to figure out my role in making sure that this gets passed, helping women run for and get elected to office, and the work we’re doing with Her Time is supporting candidates, supporting incumbents, and you know, ultimately, 2022, we have to hold the House," Hill said. "Everyone needs to remember that all this work we have done before, all of the frustrations around we’re not getting as much done as we want to, the Senate is holding us up because of the filibuster."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KATIE HILL ORDERED TO PAY $220,000 IN LAWYER FEES IN REVENGE PORN SUIT: REPORT
"But doesn’t that make you want to get back in the arena?" Keilar asked.
"You know, sometimes, but sometimes I wonder, you know, maybe my role is more important on the outside. So I’m still definitely on that kind of figuring it out piece, and at the same time, we've got redistricting happening, and there’s six months probably to go before we really know what these districts are going to look like and what districts are going to be competitive," Hill said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We will keep asking. Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming on," Keilar said, before co-host John Berman chimed in with a smile, "Not a no. Not a no, though."
Hill noted in her answer she still had legal battles and "legal debt" to tackle; CNN's hosts did not mention Hill recently lost a lawsuit against the Daily Mail for publishing nude photos of her and a female campaign staffer, leading to rumors she was in a so-called "throuple" relationship with the staffer and her ex-husband Kenny Heslep.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hill, who is bisexual, said Heslep leaked the intimate photos to the media as revenge for leaving him that year, leading to her public push against revenge porn. She has admitted to an inappropriate relationship with her campaign staffer but denied having one with her legislative director while in Congress, which is against House rules. The probe into the alleged affair was underway when she stepped down.
Hill had an unusually high profile for a freshman congresswoman. One of the youngest women ever elected at age 31, she became vice chairwoman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, but her time in Congress ended after less than a year. Her memoir "She Will Rise" was published last year.