Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Resigns Ahead of Potential Ethics Sanctions

Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick announced her resignation from Congress on Tuesday, minutes before the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to discuss what disciplinary actions to recommend against the Florida lawmaker after finding her guilty of ethics violations related to campaign finance allegations.

“This was not a fair process,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement announcing her resignation, in which she accused the committee of preventing her from defending herself and conducting a “witch hunt.”

“I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished,” she wrote. “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. I hereby resign … effective immediately.” 

Cherfilus-McCormick has been accused of stealing COVID-19 relief funds and using some of the money to fund her 2021 campaign. The Justice Department charged Cherfilus-McCormick in November with taking $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dollars that were mistakenly overpaid to her family’s healthcare company, routing it through a network of businesses and family members, and putting the money into her campaign and personal uses. The congresswoman has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.

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The House Ethics Committee last month found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of 25 ethics violations in connection with the allegations. The findings by the committee were based on a years-long investigation it conducted into the congresswoman.

At the beginning of Tuesday’s hearing, another statement from Cherfilus-McCormick was read aloud. 

“After careful reflection and prayer, I’ve concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time,” Cherfilus-McCormick wrote. Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the committee’s chairman, announced that the committee “has now lost jurisdiction in this matter” and would no longer be pursuing sanctions against the congresswoman. 

Cherfilus-McCormick is the third person to resign from the lower chamber in the last week, following the departures of Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas.