Key takeaways:
- Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress on April 16, 2024, just before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on sanctions against her.
- She was found guilty by the Ethics Committee of 25 violations related to allegations that she stole nearly $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds and used some of the money for her 2022 campaign.
- Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and argued that the Ethics process jeopardized her right to a fair trial, which has been delayed until February 2027.
Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from Congress on Tuesday moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on whether to sanction her for allegations of theft and other misconduct. The resignation effectively ended the committee’s jurisdiction over her case and a potential expulsion vote.
Cherfilus-McCormick had been found guilty by the Ethics Committee of 25 violations related to allegations that she stole nearly $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds and used some of the money to finance her 2022 special election campaign for Florida’s 20th District. The Justice Department indicted her and several co-defendants in November on charges of stealing and laundering FEMA disaster relief funds. The indictment alleges that her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, received a $5 million overpayment from FEMA, which she and her brother never repaid. The funds were allegedly routed through multiple accounts and used for campaign expenses and luxury items, including a $109,000 yellow diamond ring. Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence.
Her federal criminal trial, originally scheduled for this year, was delayed until February 2027. Cherfilus-McCormick and her attorney argued that the Ethics Committee’s public hearing and potential sanctions would prejudice her right to a fair trial. “How can she possibly go into court and have a fair trial if her jurors have already heard that she was found guilty by the House of Representatives? It’s an impossibility,” her lawyer William Barzee said.
In a statement posted on X, Cherfilus-McCormick called the Ethics investigation a “witch hunt” and said she would not allow her due process rights to be trampled or her good name tarnished. “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,” she said. Her resignation was read on the House floor shortly after.
The House Ethics Committee had spent over two years investigating Cherfilus-McCormick, reviewing more than 33,000 documents and conducting 28 witness interviews. The committee’s investigative subcommittee found “substantial reason to believe” she violated House rules and the law in 27 counts. A rare public adjudicatory hearing in March resulted in a finding that 25 of those allegations were proven.
Rep. Michael Guest, R-Mississippi, chair of the Ethics Committee, said Tuesday that the panel had “worked diligently” and that the process was deliberate and thorough. However, with Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation, the committee “has now lost jurisdiction in this matter,” and no sanctions hearing would take place.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation follows a recent pattern of members stepping down amid misconduct allegations. In the past week, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales also resigned ahead of expected expulsion votes. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote of the House, a high threshold that would have required significant Democratic support to remove Cherfilus-McCormick.
Some Democratic leaders, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, had been under pressure to remove Cherfilus-McCormick to counter GOP claims of corruption. Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida had planned to introduce a resolution to expel her once the Ethics Committee made its recommendation.
Cherfilus-McCormick submitted letters from local community leaders opposing her expulsion, citing the importance of continued representation during a critical redistricting period in Florida. After the death of former Rep. Alcee Hastings in 2021, the 20th District was without a representative for nearly nine months before Cherfilus-McCormick took office.
The last member expelled from the House was former Republican Rep. George Santos of New York in 2023, following a scathing Ethics report and criminal charges. Santos later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison, though his sentence was commuted by former President Donald Trump less than six months later.
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