Indicted Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick refuses to resign as expulsion vote looms

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., may be running out of road as Republicans lay the groundwork for an expulsion vote as soon as Tuesday.

The House Ethics Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon to formally recommend punitive action against the embattled lawmaker. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., has vowed to force a vote on Cherfilus-McCormick’s expulsion regardless of the committee’s suggested sanction.

Despite the looming expulsion threat, Cherfilus-McCormick has resisted calls to quit Congress on her own terms.

“For those asking whether I plan to resign, the answer is no,” Cherfilus-McCormick recently told Fox News Digital. “This is not the time to abandon the district, not when they too are fighting for their future.”

INDICTED DEMOCRAT SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK FACES RARE HOUSE ETHICS HEARING

A successful expulsion vote would make Cherfilus-McCormick the first lawmaker since former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in 2023 to be expelled by the House. Just six lawmakers have been expelled from the House in U.S. history.

Cherfilus-McCormick was found guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations involving financial misconduct during a rare House ethics trial in March. She has denied any wrongdoing and is facing a separate criminal trial after being indicted by a federal grand jury in 2025.

The guilty ethics verdict centered on a charge that Cherfilus-McCormick funneled more than $5 million in disaster relief funds to her campaign that was improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company.

She did not try to return the money, which amounted to more than 100 times what the government owed the family-run company.

It takes a two-thirds majority to expel a member of Congress, meaning Steube’s resolution would have to receive buy-in from Democrats.

Former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who are facing sexual misconduct allegations, both resigned last week to fend off expulsion threats. Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., is also facing a looming expulsion vote.

JEFFRIES DECLINES TO BREAK WITH INDICTED DEMOCRAT AFTER ETHICS PANEL’S GUILTY VERDICT

The vast majority of Democrats have yet to voice support for Cherfilus-McCormick’s expulsion, though a swath of moderates and progressives broke their silence after the House Ethics Committee’s verdict. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters last week that she would vote to expel Cherfilus-McCormick if she did not resign, citing the House Ethics Committee’s verdict. 

However, top Democrats have continued to stand by their indicted colleague.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Democrats would convene following the conclusion of the Ethics Committee’s proceedings to discuss Cherfilus-McCormick’s fate.

“We will proceed in a manner consistent with our approach to these types of ethics matters, which is to always and at all times follow the facts and apply the relevant law without fear of it,” Jeffries told reporters Monday.

The Congressional Black Caucus, an influential group among Democrats on Capitol Hill, has also been largely silent on the allegations facing Cherfilus-McCormick, who is a member of the group.

The CBC notably contributed $5,000 to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign during the first fundraising quarter of 2026, which runs from January to March.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled his support for the expulsion effort last week, citing “alarming facts” identified by the bipartisan ethics panel.

Cherfilus-McCormick has defied calls to suspend her re-election campaign, despite having just $11,000 in the bank, according to recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. Her campaign entered April with nearly $4.4 million in debt, some of which is due to mounting legal fees. 

The indicted lawmaker represents a safe blue seat that could be carved up if Florida’s Republican-controlled state legislature moves forward with redistricting. A growing number of Democrats are vying to unseat her during the August 2026 primary, including Gen Z activist Elijah Manley, rap artist Luther Campbell and former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness.

Cherfilus-McCormick is facing a separate 15-count criminal indictment that could result in her being sentenced to more than 50 years in prison if convicted. In addition to allegedly stealing FEMA money, federal prosecutors have also charged her with participating in a straw donor scheme to allegedly conceal illicit money flowing to her campaign and conspiring to file a false federal tax return. 

A federal judge last week approved a delay in the proceedings until February 2027 at the request of both Cherfilus-McCormick’s legal team and the prosecution.