House Committee on Ethics: 25 counts of misconduct proven true against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FLA) appears for a hearing of the House Ethics Committee on Capitol Hill on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

A subcommittee of the House Committee on Ethics found 25 counts of misconducts were proven true against Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

In an hours-long meeting on Thursday, prolonging well past midnight, the committee found all but two of the counts levied against Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) to be proven “by clear and convincing evidence,” according to a press release from the chairman of the ethics committee.

The violations, listed in the December Statement of Alleged Violations (SAV), center upon financial misconduct, especially dealing with alleged illicitly funneled funds to her campaign. In a report by the Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, transmitted to the ethics committee, the nature of the alleged violations are stated, which include Cherfilus-McCormick possibly having “dispensed special favors or privileges to friends in connection with her congressional office’s requests for community project funding.”

The two counts that were not proven dealt with money laundering through a foreign company and a “Lack of Candor and Diligence in Ethics Investigations.”

In November, Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted by a Florida grand jury for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds for her 2021 congressional campaign. According to the indictment, her and her brother collected $5 million overpayment from FEMA for their family’s healthcare company, which she had served as CEO.

The representative denied the allegations, and in a response to the SAV, she had asked for the proceedings to be stayed until the criminal indictment is resolved, noting the committee proceedings involve “allegations that overlap substantially with an ongoing federal criminal investigation.”

“To not do so, would risk compromising Representative Cherfilus-McCormick’s constitutional rights in the criminal proceedings,” the response stated.

The press release states that the appropriate sanction, if any, will be decided after the House’s April recess, which could be expulsion from the House.

“I look forward to proving my innocence. Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: showing up for the great people of Florida’s 20th District who sent me to Washington to fight for them,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a Friday statement, news outlets reported.