Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from the House of Representatives on Tuesday, less than an hour before the chamber's Ethics Committee was scheduled to meet and determine what sanctions to impose on her. She is the third House member to resign since April 13.
The Florida Democrat, 47, faced findings that she violated more than two dozen House rules and ethical standards. The committee's case centers on her alleged use of Covid-19 disaster relief funds for her 2022 congressional campaign. A separate and ongoing federal criminal case in U.S. District Court in Miami charges her with stealing $5 million in pandemic relief money allocated to her family's health-care business.
Her resignation came before the House could vote on whether to expel her, a vote that would have followed the Ethics Committee's sanctions. In a statement posted to X, Cherfilus-McCormick denied any wrongdoing and accused the committee of running an unfair process. "By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself," she wrote. "I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt."
The legal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called the resignation "beyond overdue." CREW President Donald Sherman said his organization had called for her removal two months earlier. "She spent months dragging the scandal on while cashing paychecks from American taxpayers," Sherman said. "You don't get credit for doing the right thing only when forced to, after repeatedly doing the wrong thing."
Cherfilus-McCormick had been running for a fourth term representing Florida's 20th congressional district. Her seat will now require a special election. The other two members who resigned this month, Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas, both stepped down following separate allegations of sexual misconduct.
