Cherfilus-McCormick Resigns From Congress After Ethics Probe (1)

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from the US House Tuesday shortly before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing to recommend a punishment, including potential expulsion from the House, for violations including stealing federal funds.

Her resignation comes after a rare public trial last month, after which the Ethics Committee found 25 of 27 counts proven against Cherfilus-McCormick. Republican lawmakers had been expected to quickly introduce an expulsion resolution, which would’ve require support from two-thirds of the House to kick her out. Multiple Democrats had indicated that they would’ve vote to expel Cherfilus-McCormick, but top party leaders had said they’d withhold judgment while Ethics weighed the case.

“This was not a fair process,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement announcing her resignation, less than five minutes before her Ethics hearing was scheduled to start. The Florida Democrat slammed the bipartisan panel for moving toward punishing her “before due process is complete” and said the timing of the House committee’s action constituted a “witch hunt” that kept her from defending herself.

“But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting,” Cherfilus-McCormick wrote.

Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said his panel “has worked diligently” to investigate the matter and did not “rush to judgment, as some claim.” The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), echoed that point.

The resignation, which is already effective, brings the House majority back to 218-213—including an independent who conferences with Republicans—just one day after the swearing-in of New Jersey Democrat Analilia Mejia briefly buoyed Democrats. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can now lose two GOP votes on any given party-line bill.

Cherfilus-McCormick is the third lawmaker to resign in a week after ex-Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) left the chamber last week following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Some lawmakers have also called on Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) to be removed after allegations including dating violence, which he has denied. Top Democrats have said the House should wait for the Ethics Committee to complete its investigation into Mills before voting to expel him, but the panel faces renewed pressure to speed up its probe as Capitol Hill reckons publicly with the scandal.