OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:34 PM – Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Florida Democrat Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress on Tuesday, amid a mounting ethics investigation and a federal indictment involving the purported misappropriation of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds.
The South Florida Democrat’s departure comes just as the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to meet to recommend sanctions — widely expected to include expulsion — following an “ethics trial” that found her guilty of 25 separate violations of House rules.
The downfall of the three-term congresswoman centers on a federal indictment handed down in November 2025. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, purportedly exploited a $5 million overpayment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) intended for their family’s healthcare business.
Investigators believe that the funds, which were part of a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, were diverted to:
- Fund her 2021 congressional campaign through a network of shell companies and family members.
- Purchase luxury items, including a “3-carat yellow diamond ring.“
- Personal benefit / the enrichment of her family business.
In a report authored by committee counsel, the Ethics Committee noted that her conduct “sets her apart from any prior Member due to the sheer volume of funds involved.”
While Cherfilus-McCormick had initially rebuffed calls to step down, maintaining her innocence and pleading not guilty to the criminal charges, her support within the Democrat caucus evaporated in recent weeks. Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) reportedly pressed her privately over the weekend to resign to avoid the ignominy of a public expulsion vote on the House floor.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had already signaled that the Republican majority was prepared to move for her immediate removal. “The facts are indisputable at this point,” Johnson stated last week, “.. and so I believe it’ll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled.”
Impact on Florida’s 20th District
Cherfilus-McCormick first entered Congress in 2022 after winning a special election to succeed the late Alcee Hastings. Her resignation leaves a vacancy in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, a safely Democrat seat covering parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Under Florida law, a special election will be called by the governor to fill the remainder of her term. Additionally, her resignation does not halt the criminal case against her. A federal trial is currently scheduled to begin in Miami in 2027.
“Our communities deserve stability. Our voices deserve to be heard,” read a statement from Florida Democrat Party leadership following the announcement, acknowledging the necessity of the resignation while shifting focus to the upcoming special election.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation represents a turbulent chapter for the House. If she had stayed, Cherfilus-McCormick would have faced a high-stakes vote requiring a two-thirds majority for expulsion — a threshold rarely met in U.S. history but one that appeared increasingly likely given the bipartisan nature of the Ethics Committee’s findings.
Meanwhile, her exit also complicates a parallel effort by Democrats to target Representative Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who is currently facing his own Ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
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