Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Florida, is resigning from Congress just hours before the House Ethics Committee was expected to announce disciplinary sanctions against her, according to her chief of staff.
The resignation comes after months of mounting legal and political pressure. In March, a House Ethics panel found Cherfilus-McCormick responsible for more than two dozen ethics violations tied to allegations that she improperly directed millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds into her 2021 congressional campaign. The Florida congresswoman was also indicted by a federal grand jury last November on multiple federal charges.
Her departure follows calls from both Republicans and Democrats for her to step down.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, said he planned to introduce a resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from the House if she remained in office.
“She stole $5 million, she’s been indicted with 15 felonies,” Steube told NOTUS. “If she was found guilty of 25 different ethics violations, I think it’s incumbent on the House to expel her from the body.”
Steube added that he was surprised Cherfilus-McCormick had not already resigned.
Cherfilus-McCormick had previously rejected calls to leave Congress. In a statement to NOTUS, she argued that her case should not be compared to the resignations of Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales, who both stepped down over allegations of sexual misconduct.
“The allegations I am addressing are not the same as those facing some of my colleagues,” Cherfilus-McCormick said. “We must uphold due process. No one should be judged or punished before a formal finding.”
House Democratic leaders had signaled they would wait for the Ethics Committee’s recommendations before deciding how to proceed. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would review the committee’s findings and respond “consistent with our approach to these types of ethics matters.”
Some Democrats also argued that Cherfilus-McCormick deserved the opportunity to defend herself in court before Congress moved toward expulsion.
“I think the dilemma is, everybody deserves the right to have due process,” Rep. Joyce Beatty said.
The House last expelled a member in 2023, when lawmakers voted to remove former Rep. George Santos before his criminal case was resolved. Only six members in House history have ever been expelled, making Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation the latest thunderclap in one of Congress’s rarest political storms.
