Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick announced her resignation from Congress on Tuesday, minutes before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider what punishment she should face for numerous ethics violations. With her resignation, the Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction over her case and how she handled money flowing to her congressional campaign. “The Committee on Ethics has now lost jurisdiction in this matter. There will not be a sanctions hearing,” Chairman Michael Guest said. It comes after a years-long investigation into allegations that Cherfilus-McCormick used a “straw donor scheme” as she ran for Congress. An adjudicatory subcommittee found “clear and convincing evidence” that she had committed 25 of 27 ethics violations last month. “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,” she said on X in a post four minutes before the hearing was set to begin. The Ethics Committee was set to recommend a sanction for Cherfilus-McCormick, with an expulsion effort led by her colleagues expected to follow. Her resignation prior to any floor action takes pressure off her fellow Democrats, many of whom hedged about whether they would vote with Republicans to expel her. When asked on Monday, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not publicly say whether or not he would vote to expel Cherfilus-McCormick. He said Democrats had planned to caucus after the Ethics Committee passed down its recommendations Tuesday. Expulsion is the most severe punishment the House can dole out, and prior to the ouster of former Rep. George Santos in December 2023, it hadn’t been used successfully for more than 20 years. It requires a two-thirds vote on the House floor. The Florida Democrat is facing a separate criminal trial and has denied charges against her. Her resignation was effective as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, 30 minutes before the hearing was supposed to begin. Valerie Yurk contributed to this report.
