Florida Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is facing serious legal issues. Last fall, she was indicted for allegedly misappropriating $5 million in FEMA funds. Court records indicate that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin McCormick, received these FEMA funds as part of a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. The indictment claims that the $5 million represents an overpayment of those funds, and it alleges that the defendants conspired to steal the money by routing it through multiple accounts.
The Miami Herald reported that Cherfilus-McCormick allocated funds towards a $109,000 three-carat yellow diamond ring. Additionally, she spent $2.4 million on her consulting company, $1.2 million into a bank account managed by her relatives, $830,000 to another bank account where she is an authorized user, and $334,000 to Nadege Leblanc, who is “accused of having coordinated straw-donor contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick,” while another $190,000 went to a bank account tied to Cherfilus-McCormick’s brother’s consulting company.
Naturally, because she’s black and a Democrat, Cherfilus-McCormick played the race card, calling her indictment “unjust” and telling CSPAN, “If this is what Congress is becoming, where they’re always trying to intimidate you, scare tactics, especially attacking minorities, black and brown people, then we’re going to have to keep fighting for the district.”
At the end of January, Congressman Greg Steube announced his intention to file a motion to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress when the body reconvened in Washington. He called the charges “one of the most egregious abuses of public trust I have ever seen” and said, “Stealing $5 million in taxpayer disaster funds from FEMA of all places is beyond indefensible.”
And, of course, Republicans led the charge to expel one of their own, George Santos of New York, after he was indicted on federal charges. So there’s that, Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick.
We will soon find out if the Florida Dem will be expelled because she faces a House Ethics Committee hearing on Thursday.
Via Punchbowl, a story a little below the national radar with national implications — Florida Democrat accused of stealing FEMA funds could be convicted in a House ethics hearing on Thursday and soon expelled from Congress like George Santos.@bresreports @allymutnick @maxpcohen pic.twitter.com/MYXXqbKUEx
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 25, 2026
This will pose a big problem for Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York:
Dems’ anti-corruption message is hitting close to home.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick faces a federal indictment and a rare House Ethics Committee “trial,” putting Jeffries in a tough spot as expulsion becomes a real possibility.
Read the latest:https://t.co/kSD1cyuszd
— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) March 25, 2026
Yeah, Dems can’t really run on “anti-corruption” and “responsibility” when one of their own has been indicted on, and likely will be convicted of, such an egregious crime against taxpayers (and decency).
But Jeffries, too, is a Democrat, so already he’s setting the stage to be a gargantuan hypocrite:
I asked Jeffries: If Republicans force a vote this week to expel or censure Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, will Democrats oppose it?
His response: “Next question”
? Might have something to do with this ?? https://t.co/XSzIANQpam
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) March 24, 2026
Since 1789, a total of 21 members of Congress have been expelled, comprising 15 Senators and six House members. The most recent expulsion occurred in 2023 when Republican Santos was removed from Congress. Before him, Ohio Democrat James Traficant was expelled in 2002.
