Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida) resigned from Congress Tuesday to avoid a possible expulsion vote from the House on allegations that she used Federal Emergency Management Agency money mistakenly sent to her family’s health care company during the pandemic to boost her 2022 campaign for Congress.
Last month, members of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee found Cherfilus-McCormick violated more than two dozen ethics rules, based on a years-long investigation. The full committee was set to hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon to recommend how to punish Cherfilus-McCormick. Several lawmakers were pushing for an expulsion vote after the committee deliberations.
Cherfilus-McCormick separately faces criminal charges that could lead to decades in prison tied to the errant FEMA dollars. The Department of Justice brought the charges against Cherfilus-McCormick and several others, including her brother and tax preparer, in November. A trial is set for early next year.
The criminal investigation concluded that the lawmaker’s health care company was overpaid $5 million in 2021, in an apparent clerical error. Instead of returning the overpayment, the Justice Department said Cherfilus-McCormick distributed some of it to friends and family, who in turn donated to her campaign committee. Campaign finance laws say “straw donations” are illegal.
Cherfilus-McCormick has maintained her innocence, describing the accusations as “unjust.” The congresswoman’s lawyer, William Barzee, had tried to delay the ethics proceedings, arguing that it could taint opinions of potential jurors in a federal criminal.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s departure from the chamber under duress is the third in recent days. Last week, Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-California) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) separately announced plans to depart Congress ahead of possible expulsion votes related to allegations of sexual misconduct.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will have to set dates for a primary and special election later this year to replace Cherfilus-McCormick in the House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority. Her replacement will likely be a Democrat given how reliably blue the seat is, but the Florida legislature may redraw congressional lines, which could affect the district’s makeup come November.
Cherfilus-McCormick had launched a reelection campaign last year. Several Democrats and Republicans, an independent and a candidate with no party affiliation also filed to run for the seat. Democratic primary challenger Elijah Manley flew to Washington to observe the House Ethics Committee’s March hearing.
“I am, like most of the district, extremely disappointed by the congresswoman,” Manley said at the time. “We had such high hopes for her.”
Until her resignation, the allegations had put House Democrats in an awkward position: They were stuck weighing whether to vote against their own despite privately recognizing the incriminating charges.
Some Democrats who sought to defend Cherfilus-McCormick said they had discussed pointing out that the House should not vote on her removal because she has yet to face a federal trial, but they acknowledged the argument could be weak if most House Democrats had already made up their minds.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) has been outspoken about fighting corruption within the Trump administration if Democrats win the majority this November. He had said throughout the investigation that he will let the Ethics Committee come to its own conclusion about Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct.
Fellow Floridian Rep. Greg Steube (R) sought to expel Cherfilus-McCormick in November after she was indicted by the federal grand jury. But his push was put on ice after it became apparent that the House Republican majority would not have sufficient votes to remove the Florida congresswoman. Two-thirds of the House are required to expel a member.
Recommendations made by the Ethics Committee panel typically are held in high regard by lawmakers. Unlike most panels that turn hearings into public spectacles, the Ethics Committee works privately behind closed doors and is evenly split, with five Republicans and five Democrats.
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