A bipartisan House Ethics subcommittee found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) guilty of 25 ethics violations Friday morning, capping a marathon public hearing that ran past midnight — and setting in motion a process that could remove her from Congress before her federal criminal trial begins.
The panel found 25 counts proven by clear and convincing evidence. Eighteen were campaign finance violations. The remaining seven covered false financial disclosures, misuse of official funds, and lack of candor with the Ethics Committee. The bipartisan subcommittee conducted a two-year investigation, reviewed more than 33,000 documents, and interviewed 28 witnesses.
The allegations center on a $5 million overpayment the Florida Department of Emergency Management made to Trinity Healthcare Services, Cherfilus-McCormick’s family health care company, under a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. Federal investigators allege she and her brother Edwin never returned the money, instead routing it through multiple accounts to fund her successful 2022 special election campaign. Prosecutors also allege she used a portion for luxury goods, participated in a straw donor scheme, and conspired to file a false federal tax return.
Cherfilus-McCormick appeared at the Thursday hearing but did not speak. Her attorney, William Barzee — hired weeks earlier after prior counsel withdrew — opened by asking the panel to delay proceedings until after her criminal trial, arguing an Ethics finding of guilt could taint a future jury. The committee rejected the motion. Barzee then argued Cherfilus-McCormick was entitled to the transferred funds under a profit-sharing agreement with Trinity. Committee members noted the agreement he presented was unsigned. Subcommittee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) rejected the suggestion that the evidence was new. “For you to now allege that all this information is new, that we’ve not tried to gather this information for the last two years, I find that offensive,” Guest said.
The Justice Department indicted Cherfilus-McCormick in November 2025. She pleaded not guilty. Her criminal trial is scheduled for April but could slip to summer or fall. She faces more than 50 years in prison if convicted.
The Ethics Committee meets in mid-April, after the House’s two-week spring recess, to determine punishment. Options include fines, censure, removal from committees, or expulsion. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) has pledged to force an expulsion floor vote as soon as the Ethics process concludes. Expulsion requires a two-thirds House vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declined Friday to say whether Cherfilus-McCormick should remain in the House. Several Democratic colleagues did not wait — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) called for her to resign or be removed.
If she is expelled or resigns, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis controls the timing of the special election to fill her seat. No law sets a deadline. Florida’s 20th Congressional District, centered in Broward County, is heavily Democratic — Cherfilus-McCormick won her own seat in a 2022 special election following the death of Rep. Alcee Hastings. An empty seat in a closely divided House is a functional Republican vote on any measure where margins are tight.
The last public Ethics hearing before Thursday’s was in 2010, when Rep. Charlie Rangel was ultimately censured. The last House expulsion came in 2023, when the chamber voted 311-114 to remove Rep. George Santos — before his federal conviction.
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