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Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is resigning from the U.S. House of Representatives.
The announcement comes from a statement posted on Cherfilus-McCormick’s X account and follows an investigation into her alleged violation of campaign finance laws and laundering of millions in disaster relief funds.
In her statement, Cherfilus-McCormick denounced the investigation as a “witch hunt,” and claimed the committee refused her new attorney's request to prepare her defense while she was still fighting a criminal case, preventing her from properly defending herself.
“This was not a fair process,” the statement reads, in part. “I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on and my good name to be tarnished. Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district.”
Cherfilus-McCormick, who was elected to Congress in 2022, is accused of having laundered money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) into her 2021 election campaign.
Prosecutors claim that she and another individual diverted funds from a FEMA contract to friends and relatives, who then donated the money back into her campaign as personal contributions, according to BBC.
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee found the congresswoman guilty on multiple counts in March 2026 for failing to comply with Federal Election Commission regulations and to uphold the Code of Ethics for Government Service during a rare public hearing.
The Justice Department also separately charged Cherfilus-McCormick in November 2025 for allegedly stealing over $5 million in disaster funds, to which she pleaded not guilty.
The trial for that conviction was postponed until February 2027, per BBC, and she faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted.
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