Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Resigns From U.S. House Minutes Before Ethics Sanctions Hearing

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives effective immediately on Tuesday, stepping down less than an hour before the House Ethics Committee was set to discuss what sanctions to impose on the Florida Democrat for violating more than two dozen House rules and ethical standards.

“Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress following a House Ethics investigation that found she committed 25 different violations”

ABC15 Arizona

CNBC reported that Cherfilus-McCormick resigned “less than an hour before its Ethics Committee was set to discuss what sanctions to impose,” and said the move came “effective immediately on Tuesday.”

ABC15 Arizona

The resignation followed a wave of other departures, with CNBC noting that on April 13 Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a Texas Republican, said they would resign amid separate allegations of sexual misconduct.

Multiple outlets tied the timing to the ethics process itself: Roll Call said the Ethics Committee was set to consider what punishment she should face “minutes before,” and said Chairman Michael Guest told reporters, “The Committee on Ethics has now lost jurisdiction in this matter. There will not be a sanctions hearing.”

NBC News similarly reported that Cherfilus-McCormick resigned “moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider whether to recommend she be expelled from Congress.”

In her resignation statement posted on X, Cherfilus-McCormick denied wrongdoing and attacked the process, saying, “By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself.”

She also said, “I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt,” and described stepping away as necessary to protect her due process rights.

The resignation came after the House Ethics Committee’s work culminated in findings that Cherfilus-McCormick violated House rules and ethical standards tied to campaign finance.

CNBC said the Ethics Committee’s own case against her related to “her use of the funds for the campaign,” and said she faced a pending criminal case in U.S. District Court in Miami on charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in Covid-19 disaster relief funds allocated to her family's health-care business.

CNBC

Roll Call reported that “an adjudicatory subcommittee found ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that she had committed 25 of 27 ethics violations last month,” and said the investigation centered on allegations she used a “straw donor scheme” as she ran for Congress.

ABC15 Arizona summarized the ethics probe as finding she committed “25 different violations,” and said the allegations stemmed from accusations of misusing millions in disaster relief funds for her campaign for Florida's 20th congressional district.

CNN described the ethics outcome as a guilty finding on multiple counts, saying the committee “found her guilty on multiple counts of failing to comply with Federal Election Commission regulations and uphold the Code of Ethics for Government Service.”

NBC News added that “Last month, the Ethics panel 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.”

The outlets also described the scope of the ethics investigation: CNN said the panel “sent 30 requests for information, issued 59 subpoenas, conducted 28 witness interviews and reviewed over 33,000 pages of documents,” while PBS said the panel’s two-year investigation led to “59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents.”

Cherfilus-McCormick denied wrongdoing across the coverage, and in her resignation statement she said, “I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished.”

Cherfilus-McCormick framed her resignation as a response to what she called unfair treatment by the House Ethics Committee and as a way to avoid having her due process rights “trampled on.”

In her statement, she said, “By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself,” and she added, “I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt.”

CNN quoted her attorney, William Barzee, saying, “I wasn’t given any time in order to prepare a defense, and she was left with no choice,” and arguing that the ethics panel put her in an “absolutely terrible position.”

PBS described Barzee’s argument that lawmakers should have allowed a thorough ethics trial where he could present “witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.”

Roll Call reported that Cherfilus-McCormick said, “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,” and said she posted her statement “four minutes before the hearing was set to begin.”

The political reaction from outside the committee was sharply partisan in some coverage: Florida Phoenix quoted Republican National Committee spokesperson Emma Hall saying Cherfilus-McCormick was an “unashamed con artist who stole millions from Florida taxpayers and flaunted it,” and said Hall added, “Resigning in disgrace is the bare minimum after defrauding the American people.”

Axios reported that Cherfilus-McCormick faced pressure from Democratic colleagues to step aside rather than force an expulsion vote, and said “Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), the CBC chair, praised Cherfilus-McCormick in a statement,” saying she “contributed to the ongoing effort to ensure that Congress reflects the people it serves.”

NBC News also described the broader political stakes, noting that the resignation meant “her fellow Democrats won't have to take a tough vote on removing her from office.”

While all the coverage centered on the same resignation and ethics timeline, outlets differed in emphasis—particularly around what the resignation meant for the ethics process and how the allegations were characterized.

Roll Call framed the procedural impact directly, quoting Chairman Michael Guest: “The Committee on Ethics has now lost jurisdiction in this matter. There will not be a sanctions hearing,” and describing how the resignation removed the committee’s ability to recommend punishment.

MS NOW

CNN similarly said House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest noted that “given the congresswoman had stepped down, the committee had lost its jurisdiction and would no longer consider sanctions against her,” and described the committee’s guilty findings and the rare public hearing.

CNBC, by contrast, foregrounded the criminal case and the ethics committee’s focus on campaign use, saying Cherfilus-McCormick faced a pending criminal case in U.S. District Court in Miami on charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in Covid-19 disaster relief funds, and said the Ethics Committee’s own case related to “her use of the funds for the campaign.”

The New York Post emphasized the resignation’s immediacy relative to the ethics panel, saying she resigned “30 minutes before she was scheduled to appear before an ethics panel,” and quoted her letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying, “After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time.”

PBS and NBC News both described the ethics process as a high-stakes decision about expulsion, with PBS saying members of the House Ethics Committee “had been set to weigh what punishment to recommend after they found she committed 25 violations,” and NBC News saying the committee was set to consider whether to recommend she be expelled.

Coverage also diverged in how it described the broader political context: Axios said “Cherfilus-McCormick was likely on the cusp of being expelled,” while NBC News said expulsion would have required “roughly 70 Democrats to remove her,” describing the high bar.

The resignation shifted the immediate ethics timetable while leaving the criminal case and future political consequences in place.

“14:56 News Story Criminal Justice DC Bureau Florida government Politics & Law Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress just before Ethics hearing: ‘Witch hunt’ By: Liv Caputo - April 21, 2026 2:56 pm Claiming to be the victim of a “witch hunt,” U”

Florida Phoenix

NBC News said Cherfilus-McCormick’s 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 expulsion before her day in court, while also noting she pleaded not guilty.

NBC 6 South Florida

CNBC reported that she had been seeking re-election for a fourth term representing Florida's 20th congressional district before resigning, and said her resignation came less than an hour before the Ethics Committee was set to discuss sanctions.

Roll Call said her resignation was effective as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, 30 minutes before the hearing was supposed to begin, and said that with her resignation the Ethics Committee lost jurisdiction over “how she handled money flowing to her congressional campaign.”

ABC15 Arizona said that with the resignations, the House was split “217 Republicans, 213 Democrats and one independent, with four vacancies,” and said the resignations followed those of Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales.

MS NOW added that House members who resign are replaced via a special election, meaning “the seat remains vacant until a new representative is elected by the voters of that district.”

Axios said Rep. Nancy Mace was planning to force a vote on expelling Rep. Cory Mills this week, and said Mills faces allegations including “financial misconduct, campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct,” which he denies.