Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) announced on Tuesday that she is resigning amid controversy over the campaign finance indictment against her.
The soon-to-be-departed lawmaker posted a statement on X in which she said, “This was not a fair process” because “The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense. By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself.”
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— Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (@CongresswomanSC) April 21, 2026
Oddly enough, the lawmaker suggested earlier in the day that she did not plan to step down from her position. “For those asking whether I plan to resign, the answer is no,” she said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
The scandal centers on Chefilus-McCormick being indicted for allegedly stealing a $5 million overpayment from a FEMA-funded COVID vaccination staffing contract. The government awarded the contract to her family’s business, called Trinity Healthcare Services, in 2021.
Prosecutors say that instead of returning the extra money, she and her co-defendants shuffled it through several bank accounts to conceal its origin. Then, they allegedly used a large chunk of the money to boost her 2021 congressional campaign and pay for personal expenses. They also claim Cherfilus-McCormick set up straw-donor contributions and made false statements on her tax returns.
House investigators launched an ethics probe into the lawmaker and found that she was responsible for more than two dozen ethics violations related to her financial conduct. The findings sparked a major push in the House to expel her from Congress.
Republicans introduced a resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick. House Speaker Mike Johnson supported her removal. Even some Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said they would vote to kick her out of Congress if she refused to resign.
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