Former congresswoman Katie Hill accused Mitch McConnell of caring more about the National Rifle Association’s money than about American children on Friday in the wake of a deadly school shooting a day earlier.
In a letter to her former fellow lawmakers, Hill urged them to “have our back in Congress” after a lone gunman opened fire Thursday at the high school Hill attended in her former California district.
“I don’t have to tell you how angry I am at the inaction of the Senate and Leader McConnell,” Hill wrote. “How so many lives would have been saved if only he cared about our kids in the same way he cares about the NRA’s money.”
Two people were killed and three injured when a 16-year-old male student fired into a crowd of students arriving for classes Thursday morning at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita. The gunman is in grave condition after shooting himself in the head.
McConnell has blocked debate on the House’s universal background check bill, saying he will not spend time on the legislation unless President Trump agrees to sign the bill.
Hill also lamented that she is “no longer in Congress and unable to advocate for them in all of the ways I want to.”
The California Democrat resigned from Congress last month amid a scandal over allegations that she carried on sexual relationships with campaign and congressional subordinates. She admitted to engaging in a “throuple” with her ex-husband and a campaign staffer but has denied having a relationship with her legislative director.
The former representative also blamed “hateful” political operatives for running a “smear campaign” against her and said her ex-husband was abusive and leaked the compromising photos of Hill with a staffer that triggered her resignation.