Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat charged with stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency money for her campaign, announced on Tuesday that she would resign.
Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick, 47, was indicted in November on charges of stealing federal disaster funds and funneling some of the money to her 2021 congressional campaign. The case could carry a prison term of up to 53 years. She has denied any wrongdoing.
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick for years and on Tuesday had been preparing to move toward expelling her. The lawmaker resigned about 20 minutes before the panel was to vote.
Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick, who was running for re-election, wrote on social media that the committee had refused to give her lawyers time to prepare her defense. She warned of punishing people “before due process is complete” and said that “we do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people.”
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Soumya Karlamangla is a Times reporter who covers California. She is based in the Bay Area.
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