Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Resigns From Congress Before House Ethics Committee Expulsion Vote

Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned on Tuesday moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider whether to recommend she be expelled from Congress, ending a disciplinary process that had found her guilty of 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards.

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NBC News reported that the Ethics panel was scheduled to weigh expulsion after it found her guilty of 25 ethics violations related to allegations she stole federal relief funds and used some of the money to fund her political campaign.

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In a statement posted on X, Cherfilus-McCormick said, "I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt. I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished," and she added, "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida's 20th district. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately."

Roll Call reported that the committee’s chairman, Michael Guest, said, "The Committee on Ethics has now lost jurisdiction in this matter. There will not be a sanctions hearing," after her resignation.

PBS described that the House Ethics Committee had been set to weigh what punishment to recommend after it found she committed 25 violations, including breaking campaign finance laws, and that the committee read her resignation letter and adjourned.

The Palm Beach Post similarly said the House Ethics Committee canceled its sanctions hearing because her resignation ended its jurisdiction over the matter, and it quoted her X statement that began, "This was not a fair process."

Multiple outlets described the House Ethics Committee’s multi-year work and the specific procedural posture that existed immediately before Cherfilus-McCormick quit.

NBC News said the House Ethics panel began conducting its own investigation in 2023 after the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics said the committee should probe the matter, and it reported that the investigative subcommittee “reviewed over 33,000 documents totaling hundreds of thousands of pages of materials and conducted 28 witness interviews” before making its determination.

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NBC News also said that in December the House Ethics subcommittee adopted a statement of alleged violations, detailing 27 counts in which it determined there was “substantial reason to believe” she violated House rules, regulations or the law.

Last month, NBC News reported, a special adjudicatory subcommittee determined she was guilty of 25 House violations, and it said it marked only the third completed adjudicatory hearing, according to the Ethics panel.

Roll Call added that last month an adjudicatory subcommittee found “clear and convincing evidence” that she had committed 25 of 27 ethics violations, and it said the Ethics Committee was set to recommend a sanction with an expulsion effort expected to follow.

WPTA said the committee still gaveled in, and Chairman Rep. Michael Guest read Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation letter, after which the committee no longer had jurisdiction and no full sanctions hearing took place.

In a separate account, NBC 6 South Florida said the panel’s two-year investigation led to the issuance of 59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents, and it described potential punishments including a reprimand or a censure, a fine, and expulsion as the most severe form.

Alongside the ethics case, Cherfilus-McCormick faced federal criminal charges tied to FEMA disaster funds, and her resignation was framed by her as a response to due process concerns while the criminal case remained pending.

NBC News said the Justice Department indicted her in November on charges that she stole and laundered millions in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, and it reported that her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, received a $5 million overpayment after working with FEMA through a Covid-19 vaccination contract.

NBC News further said the DOJ alleged she and her brother never paid it back, routed it through multiple accounts and then used it to fund her successful 2022 special election campaign, and it added that she allegedly used some of the FEMA money to buy a $109,000, 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring.

BBC reported that she faces federal charges for allegedly stealing the $5m (£3.8m) in Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) disaster funds and spending the money on luxury purchases, including a $109,000 (£81,660) 3-carat yellow diamond ring.

BBC also said she faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted and that the trial was postponed until February 2027.

NBC News said her criminal trial is expected to begin in February 2027, and it described her complaint that it was a "dangerous path" for the Ethics panel to weigh her expulsion before her day in court.

Her attorney, William Barzee, told the Ethics panel that it should not have moved forward with a public hearing or verdict, arguing that such a decision would influence the criminal case and violate her right to due process, according to NBC News.

Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation statement and the Ethics Committee leadership’s response highlighted a sharp contrast in how the process was characterized by both sides.

Cherfilus-McCormick told NBC News that she would not “stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on,” and NBC 6 South Florida quoted her saying, “we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete.”

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NBC News also quoted her saying, "I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished," and it described her complaint that it was a "dangerous path" for the Ethics panel to weigh her expulsion before her day in court.

In contrast, Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest defended the committee’s work after the resignation, telling reporters, "I will tell you that the committee has worked diligently to investigate this matter, that this was not a rush to judgment, as some would claim," and he added, "that this was a very deliberate process to gather information into allegations that were extremely serious and extremely complicated."

WPTA quoted Guest saying, “It may not work as quickly as some people would like. It is a very deliberate process,” and it said he added, “If there are reforms that need to be made, we would be receptive to that, but again, that is not for this committee to make; we are bound by the rules.”

Roll Call reported that Guest said the committee had not been aware she would resign prior to the ethics hearing, and it quoted his jurisdiction statement: "The Committee on Ethics has now lost jurisdiction in this matter. There will not be a sanctions hearing."

NBC 6 South Florida also reported that House Democratic leaders declined to condemn her, saying they wanted to see the ethics process play out, and it described potential punishments including reprimand, censure, fine, and expulsion.

Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation shifted the immediate ethics timetable and left her federal criminal case as the next major legal step, while also affecting political calculations inside the House.

NBC News said her resignation meant her fellow Democrats wouldn’t have to take a tough vote on removing her from office, and it explained that expulsion requires a two-thirds vote, meaning it would have taken roughly 70 Democrats to remove her.

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Roll Call said her resignation took pressure off fellow Democrats who had been hedging about whether they would vote with Republicans to expel her, and it reported that the resignation was effective as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, 30 minutes before the ethics hearing was supposed to begin.

USA Today reported that her exit gave Republicans temporary political cushion against their razor-thin voting margin, and it said GOP Rep. Cory Mills, another Florida lawmaker, is facing calls from within his own party to leave Congress over scandals including suspected financial misconduct and a past domestic violence investigation.

USA Today also quoted Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, saying, "Another one down," and "One more to go."

BBC reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week he thought Cherfilus-McCormick's fate was sealed on Capitol Hill, saying, "The Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," and "I think the facts are indisputable at this point."

ABC News reported that before her resignation, Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube said he would move to force a vote to try to expel her following the sanction hearing, and it quoted Steube calling on the Department of Justice to put her in prison, writing, "This is a victory for our institution and the great state of Florida," and "Now it's on the DOJ to put her in prison."

Looking ahead beyond the ethics process, BBC said her trial was postponed until February 2027 and that she faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted, while NBC News said her criminal trial is expected to begin in February 2027.