Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from Congress on Tuesday moments before the start of a House ethics hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled, the Associated Press reported.
The House Ethics Committee had spent more than two years investigating her conduct and had determined recently that she violated multiple federal laws and House rules, as support from her own party increasingly fell into doubt. Her departure came as the ethics hearing was scheduled to begin, and it followed a recent wave of other lawmakers leaving office under similar clouds: it was the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House member, with Rep. Eric Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonzales both announcing they were leaving amid allegations that had included the prospect of expulsion.
In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the committee denied her new attorney’s request for more time to prepare a defense. She said she would not characterize the process as anything other than a “witch hunt,” and she said she would resign effective immediately rather than “play political games” with the timing and outcome of the ethics effort.
Cherfilus-McCormick also pointed to due-process concerns about what the House could do before a complete legal process, saying: “we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete,” and “We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people.” She added that what she described as a “dangerous path” should concern “every American, regardless of party,” in the same statement.
The Associated Press reported that Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing federal criminal charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using the money to buy items including a 3-carat yellow diamond ring. She pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and said she is not guilty of ethics violations. The ethics allegations, according to the AP account, center on how her family’s health care business received millions of dollars after Florida mistakenly overpaid it by roughly $5 million with COVID-19 disaster relief funds, and she is accused of using that money to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.
The AP report said she declined to testify during a previous Ethics Committee hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, sparred with some lawmakers during the ethics process and argued that the committee should have allowed a thorough ethics trial in which he could present witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.
Some supporters weighed in against expulsion efforts despite her resignation, with a group of local faith leaders, union officials and others sending letters to lawmakers who lead the Ethics Committee urging them to proceed with caution. One letter cited by the Associated Press said, “Our communities deserve stability. Our voices deserve to be heard. And our right to representation must be protected.” Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and other members of the caucus issued a statement praising Cherfilus-McCormick’s time in Congress, saying she “worked to uplift her constituents and elevate issues impacting underserved communities at home and abroad,” while offering appreciation for her service and “prayers for her and her family.”
In all, the AP said the Ethics panel’s more than two-year investigation led to the issuance of 59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews, and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents. House Democratic leaders, the report added, had declined to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick and said they wanted to see the ethics process play out, while leadership had also been in conversations with her for weeks after the committee released its findings, about the likelihood of an expulsion vote.
The House has historically been reluctant to make itself the final arbiter of a lawmaker’s career, and the Constitution sets a high threshold for expulsion. Under that threshold, at least two-thirds of the House has to vote for expulsion, requiring enormous bipartisan support. The AP report noted that among the six House members expelled, the first three fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, the next two had been convicted of crimes, and the final one was George Santos, who was the subject of a blistering ethics report and a federal indictment; the AP said Santos served time in prison for ripping off campaign donors before receiving clemency from President Donald Trump.
House Republicans had signaled their intent to seek expulsion. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week he believed the House would move to expel Cherfilus-McCormick, saying, “The facts are indisputable at this point.” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, in turn, said he took issue with her characterization of the Ethics Committee’s investigation, adding, “Well, if you steal money, it’s called theft. It’s not called a witch hunt, and stealing taxpayer money is not going to be tolerated.”