Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from the 119th Congress effective immediately on Tuesday, just hours before the House Ethics Committee was set to formally recommend punishment against her.
Prosecutors allege a $5 million COVID relief overpayment landed in her family’s healthcare company, got moved through a series of bank accounts and was used to fund her congressional campaign along with a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring, a Tesla, and designer clothes. She ran in 2022 telling voters she was self-financing her campaign.
A seven-hour Ethics Committee hearing in late March ended past midnight with a bipartisan guilty finding on 25 of 27 counts against her.
The congresswoman had said as recently as days ago that she would not resign. But with over 30 Democrats already signaling they would vote yes on expulsion and bipartisan momentum building against her, she joins Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) as the third member of Congress to resign in roughly two weeks.
In her resignation statement, she called the process unfair, alleging the Ethics Committee refused her new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare her defense and that by pushing forward while a criminal indictment is still 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. I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished,” she added.
She framed the resignation as a choice rather than a defeat.
“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 in her statement.
The congresswoman — who still faces legal challenges — went on to argue she was not provided due process and said that ousting individuals over allegations alone is a dangerous path.
She closed by telling constituents it has been the honor of her life to serve them, signing off with a note that signals she is not done.
“This fight is far from over,” she said.
NOTUS first reported the resignation.
