Speaker Johnson predicts House will expel Cherfilus-McCormick, citing 'alarming facts' from ethics probe
Published in Political News
Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he expects the House of Representatives to vote to expel embattled U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat, faces an April 21 hearing at which the full House Ethics Committee will consider a sanctions recommendation to the full house after its adjudicatory subcommittee found last month that she had committed 25 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws.
“I do think certainly on Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they’ve, they’ve found some alarming facts,” Johnson told CNN during a media scrum at the Capitol. “I think the facts are indisputable at this point and so I believe it’ll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled. I mean that certainly rises to the level that’s needed.”
Johnson was noncommittal about U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican whose district is northeast of Orlando. Besides Cherfilus-McCormick, Mills is the member of Congress under the greatest scrutiny after Monday’s announcements of resignations of U.S. Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas.
“With regard to Mills I’m not sure of the status of the Ethics Committee investigation,” Johnson said, adding he’d be “looking into” it.
In the Cherfilus-McCormick case, the adjudicatory subcommittee found on March 27 that 25 of 27 allegations from the investigatory subcommittee “had been proven by clear and convincing evidence.”
The allegations center on Cherfilus-McCormick’s receipt of millions of dollars from her family’s health care business following Florida’s overpayment of roughly $5 million in disaster relief funds.
Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of using that money to fund her 2021 special primary campaign and 2022 special congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.
The congresswoman has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and has entered a not guilty plea to federal criminal charges, some of which overlap with the House ethics case.
In a statement Tuesday she said her case shouldn’t be lumped in with members of Congress who have been accused of sexual assault or misconduct and warned against a rush to judgment that would deny her due process rights.
“I want to be very clear: those calling for my resignation or expulsion do not know, nor do they care about my district or the fight we are in right now,” she said in the statement.
“Second, the allegations I am addressing are not the same as those facing some of my colleagues. Lumping them together, particularly with cases involving sexual assault and rape, is inaccurate and irresponsible. Third, we must uphold due process. No one should be judged or punished before a formal finding. Expelling members without that standard sets a dangerous precedent.
“And finally, for those asking whether I plan to resign: the answer is no. This is not the time to abandon the district, especially when they too are fighting for their future,” the congresswoman said.
Mills has been accused of sexual and financial misconduct, and the Ethics Committee has said it has received two referrals concerning allegations about him from the Office of Congressional Conduct. In November, the Ethics Committee formed an investigative subcommittee for the Mills case.
He has denied wrongdoing.
Rank-and-file Republicans have been pushing for Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation or expulsion, and have been joined by some Democrats. Some lawmakers have said they could support expelling both at the same time.
“Sheila McCormick, we have your expulsion vote ready to be called up on the 21st. Either resign or be expelled. Those are your two options,” U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Tampa Bay Republican, wrote Tuesday on social media. “So America is tracking: Sheila stole $5 million in FEMA funds.”
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Republican from Florida’s Gulf Coast, filed an expulsion resolution last year.
The decision isn’t up to the Republican majority.
Expulsion requires a vote of two-thirds of the House, so Democratic support is required. Separate video from Washington shows House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries ignoring a CNN reporter’s question about what should happen with Cherfilus-McCormick.
The Republican campaign organization responsible for helping its party’s House candidates has been trying to make her a political liability for other Democrats. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, which wasn’t affected by the decisions by Democrat Swalwell and Republican Gonzales. Removing Cherfilus-McCormick but leaving Mills in place would help Republicans pass their agenda.
Cherfilus-McCormick won a heavily contested special primary election in 2021 by just five votes. Her campaign was fueled by money that investigators said she received and reported improperly.
In January 2022, she won the special general election to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings. Later that year, she won a full term and won a second term without facing the voters in 2024 when no Democrat or Republican came forward to challenge her.
Four Democrats are challenging her in the Democratic primary this year.
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