By Terell Wright

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D., Fla.) said she planned to resign from the House in the face of allegations she stole millions of dollars in federal funds, the third lawmaker to quit in recent days.

"I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything but a witch hunt," Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. She said she couldn't adequately defend herself in a House ethics probe because of criminal charges she is facing. "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away" to focus on her work for her district, she said.

The statement came just ahead of a planned House Ethics Committee hearing in which the panel was set to consider whether to recommend expelling her.

Last week, Reps. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R., Texas) resigned after colleagues of both parties made clear they would vote to expel them in the wake of accusations of sexual misconduct. Some members have also called for another embattled lawmaker, Rep. Cory Mills (R., Fla.), to step aside.

Cherfilus-McCormick has been under scrutiny by the Ethics Committee and federal investigators for years. In November, she was one of four people indicted for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds that were improperly sent to her family's healthcare company. The indictment accused her of using some of those funds for her first House campaign in 2021. Cherfilus-McCormick, 47 years old, pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen federal counts. She called the indictment "an unjust, baseless sham."

The Ethics Committee -- which comprises five Democrats and five Republicans -- started investigating Cherfilus-McCormick in 2023. In March, an Ethics subcommittee found "clear and convincing evidence" for more than 20 alleged ethics violations.

A two-thirds vote in the House is required to expel a lawmaker. The chamber currently has 217 Republicans -- plus an independent that caucuses with the GOP -- and 214 Democrats. Roughly 70 House Democrats would need to join the Republicans to oust the Florida representative.

Write to Terell Wright at terell.wright@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2026 14:14 ET (18:14 GMT)

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