Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress on Tuesday, just hours before the House Ethics Committee was set to impose sanctions for 25 ethics violations, including allegations she stole $5 million in federal disaster relief funds and used the money to boost her 2021 campaign.
The Florida Democrat’s abrupt departure marks the latest congressional exit amid scandal and leaves Democrats with one fewer seat as they prepare for unified Republican control of Washington.
Ethics Panel Found Pattern of Misconduct
The Ethics Committee’s two-and-a-half-year investigation uncovered what investigators called systematic misconduct. The panel reviewed over 33,000 documents and conducted 28 witness interviews before concluding Cherfilus-McCormick violated federal law by stealing FEMA disaster relief funds and funneling portions into her congressional campaign.
Her resignation immediately ended the committee’s jurisdiction, canceling the planned sanctions hearing. Republican Rep. Greg Steube had been preparing an expulsion resolution that likely would have succeeded, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Criminal Trial Looms
Cherfilus-McCormick faces a separate federal criminal trial scheduled for February 2027, where she has pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing and laundering federal disaster relief funds. The criminal case will proceed regardless of her congressional resignation.
In her resignation statement, she dismissed the ethics process as “not a fair process” and a “witch hunt,” claiming it violated her due process rights by proceeding while criminal charges were pending.
Third Resignation This Week
Cherfilus-McCormick’s departure follows resignations by California Democrat Eric Swalwell and Texas Republican Tony Gonzales, both of whom faced sexual misconduct allegations. The wave of departures further narrows Democrats’ already slim minority position heading into the new Congress.
The resignations highlight ongoing ethics challenges in Congress, where members facing serious allegations increasingly choose to resign rather than face formal expulsion proceedings that require a two-thirds majority vote.