&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress amid ethics violations investigation; third House member to quit this month")
Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress after an investigation concluded she committed more than 20 ethics violations, including breaches of campaign finance laws. She is accused of improperly using US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) funds during her 2021 election campaign. The 46-year-old lawmaker, elected in 2022, has denied wrongdoing and said she intends to prove her innocence.
"Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away," she said in a social media post announcing her resignation and describing the ethics probe as a "witch hunt". Her resignation comes as she faced the possibility of a rare expulsion vote in the House of Representatives following the Ethics Committee’s findings. In her statement, she argued the panel did not give her legal team sufficient time to prepare a defense and initiated proceedings while she was dealing with a criminal case, which she said: "prevented me from defending myself".
Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing federal charges alleging she misappropriated $5m (£3.8m) in disaster relief funds.
Prosecutors claim she and another individual redirected money from a Fema contract to associates, who then contributed those funds to her campaign as personal donations. Her trial has been delayed until February 2027, and she could face up to 53 years in prison if found guilty.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated last week that her position in Congress was no longer tenable. "The Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," he said. “I think the facts are indisputable at this point.” According to him, the committee uncovered "clear and convincing evidence" that she violated House rules. Her resignation follows two other lawmakers who stepped down amid potential expulsion proceedings.
Representatives Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales both resigned earlier this month after facing allegations of sexual misconduct. The most recent forced expulsion from the House was New York Republican George Santos in 2023, marking the first such action in two decades.
