Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from Congress on Tuesday, 30 minutes before she was scheduled to appear before an ethics panel over her alleged theft of $5 million in taxpayer money to fund her political ambitions.
A House Ethics investigative subcommittee found last month that she violated more than two dozen laws, rules or regulations governing lawmakers and was weighing whether to recommend a censure — or potential expulsion.
“After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time,” the Florida Democrat informed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“I remain committed to supporting a smooth transition and ensuring continuity of service for the district.”
With her departure, Republicans hold a narrow 217-213 majority over Democrats in the lower chamber. The letter was expected to be read on the House floor later Tuesday afternoon.
Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned from the House last week amid ethics investigations into sexual misconduct involving members of their own staff.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) is also facing an ethics probe for sex misconduct and “dating violence,” meaning the GOP could move into a one-vote majority in the House before the November 2026 midterm elections.
One independent, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), changed his registration from the Republican Party earlier this year, but continues to caucus with them.
In a separate statement, the congresswoman accused the House Ethics Committee of not engaging in a “fair process” while its investigative subcommittee looked into her purported pilfering of COVID-19 relief funds.
The bipartisan 10-member panel voted to find her “guilty” of at least 25 counts related to the stolen Federal Emergency Management Agency funds on March 27, following a rare public hearing that stretched from the day before into the early morning hours.
Cherfilus-McCormick had failed congressional bids in 2018 and 2020 — but won a January 2022 special election in Florida’s deep-blue 20th Congressional District to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.).
Before then, she had triumphed in a Democratic primary by just five votes over her next-closest competitor in November 2021.
During those campaigns, $5.7 million in government funding was funneled to a consulting firm “wholly owned” by Cherfilus-McCormick between March 2021 and October 2022, before it was voluntarily dissolved, a House ethics report determined in January.
Of that sum, a total of $3.6 million reached Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign coffers, according to ethics investigators.
The contributions were made via personal loans — which were illegal, in some cases — or donations from her siblings who also had links to a health care company that doled out the federal funds.
Defense attorney William Barzee proclaimed her innocence in the hearing and claimed that Cherfilus-McCormick had a legitimate “profit-sharing” agreement with her relatives who ran the company, Trinity Health Care.
“This is a family business,” he told lawmakers, rejecting sharp questions about the Democrat’s failure to provide documentation and saying the Cherfilus-McCormick arrangements were made “orally” or with “a handshake.”
The funding was supposed to be transferred from FEMA to a Florida government agency to health care firms statewide helping with COVID jab registration.
“The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense,” Cherfilus-McCormick claimed.
Her statement also warned about the dangers of setting a new precedent in seeking to “punish people before due process is complete.”
Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing a federal trial over the alleged theft.
Federal prosecutors indicted her on 15 counts in November 2025 for splurging the millions of taxpayer dollars on her political campaigns and even some luxuries such as a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring.
She faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted of all charges following the February 2027 trial.
“By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself. I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt,” she added.
“I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished. 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.”
“We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous path, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party,” she declared, adding that the “fight is far from over.”
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