Speaker Johnson: Cherfilus-McCormick ‘should be expelled’

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he thinks the House will agree that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) should be expelled from Congress.

His comments come just a day after both Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who had been facing allegations of sexual misconduct, announced they plan to leave office rather than face expulsion resolutions from their colleagues.

A House Ethics subcommittee last month announced that the panel had proven 25 of 27 counts of ethics violations against Cherfilus-McCormick, who is under federal indictment over allegations that she stole $5 million from FEMA disaster funds for personal use. The committee has scheduled a hearing on April 21 to determine what kind of sanctions would be appropriate to take against her. She has denied any wrongdoing.

“I have been a zealous guardian of due process around here,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “I do think certainly on Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts. I think the facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it’ll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled. I mean, that certainly rises to the level that’s needed.”

Cherfilus-McCormick, along with Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who has been mired in his own ethical controversies, have been facing a growing wave of bipartisan calls to resign. After Gonzales and Swalwell announced their exits from Congress on Monday, the spotlight quickly shifted to the two Florida lawmakers.

“Two down. Two to go,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) wrote on X.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) issued a stern warning to Cherfilus-McCormick on X Tuesday:  “We have your expulsion vote ready to be called up on the 21st. Either resign or be expelled. Those are your two options. So America is tracking: Sheila stole $5 million in FEMA funds.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has already filed a resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick, with plans to move it to the House floor as soon as the Ethics findings are released. Luna said she would “fully be backing” the effort. 

Mills, meanwhile, is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee on whether he violated campaign finance laws, received special favors in his position, engaged in sexual misconduct, and misused congressional resources. 

Johnson said he will be looking into the status of the Ethics Committee investigation against Mills. Johnson has maintained that the Ethics panel should complete its investigations before the chamber takes action to punish its members. 

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