House Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns amid ethics investigation

Democratic US representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick said she is resigning effective immediately, after a House committee found she violated ethics rules. The panel was set to issue its recommended punishment for the Florida representative on Tuesday.

Cherfilus-McCormick was also indicted by a federal grand jury in November for allegedly funneling more than $5m worth of federal disaster funds from her company into her 2021 congressional campaign.

“The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. “By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself.” She also said the process had been a “witch-hunt” and that, instead of playing “political games” she is stepping down to devote time to “fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district”.

More details soon …