Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., resigned just minutes before a committee was set to vote on a recommendation for her expulsion from the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
It is very rare for Congress to expel one of its own members, with only five House members in history being voted out. Cherfilus-McCormick was the subject of a two-year-long House investigation into allegations that she misused federal emergency funding. Last month, the House Ethics Committee found the Florida representative had violated Federal Election Commission regulations and failed to uphold the Code of Ethics for Government Service.
She was criminally indicted in November on charges of laundering up to $5 million in disaster funds through her 2021 election campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick pleaded not guilty to the charges and will face trial in Miami next year.
In her resignation, she called the House investigation a “witch hunt” and warned against “punish[ing] people before due process is complete.”
“By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself,” Cherfilus-McCormick wrote. “We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. This is a dangerous path, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party.”
Cherfilus-McCormick is the third House member to resign in a matter of weeks. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, both resigned under pressure following sexual misconduct allegations. Their resignations also preempted a push to expel the representatives.
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