U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat from Florida, resigns amid ethics probe

Former Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

The U.S. House of Representatives lost another member on Tuesday as Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida, resigned amid an ethics investigation. 

Cherfilus-McCormick announced her immediate resignation in a statement posted on social media, but maintained her innocence, saying the investigation of her alleged misconduct was "a witch hunt." Cherfilus-McCormick was found to have committed 25 ethics and rules violations surrounding campaign finance laws, among others.

She is also facing federal criminal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in disaster relief funds during the COVID pandemic. Authorities say she used some of the money, meant for citizens struggling financially during the pandemic lockdowns, on non-essential items, like a three-carat diamond ring, according to The Associated Press. Cherfilus-McCormick is also accused of having used some of those funds to fund her 2022 campaign for re-election. She has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. 

The decision to resign came just before the House Ethics Committee was about to convene on Tuesday to announce sanctions against Cherfilus-McCormick and recommend disciplinary actions, including possible expulsion. House Ethics investigators gave her a chance to refute the allegations earlier this year, but she declined to testify, invoking the Fifth Amendment, The Associated Press reported. 

Cherfilus-McCormick, 47, represented Florida's 20th congressional district, an area that encompasses West Palm Beach, and a swath of territory to the west, and was elected to Congress in 2022 in a special election to fill the seat of Alcee Hastings, a longtime congressman who died in 2021. 

She is the third member of Congress to resign in recent days. Last week, Eric Swalwell of California and Republican U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas both resigned amid calls for expulsion amid sexual misconduct scandals.