Democratic congresswoman resigns after campaign finance charges

Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress following an investigation that found she committed more than 20 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws.

Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of illegally funneling US disaster aid to her election campaign and spending the money on luxury purchases, including a $109,000 (£81,660) 3-carat yellow diamond ring.

The announcement made her the third member of Congress in the last week to resign after allegations of misconduct and a possible vote to expel them from the US House of Representatives.

She has denied the allegations and vowed to clear her name.

"Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away," the congresswoman said in a social media post announcing her resignation and calling the congressional ethics investigation a "witch hunt".

Cherfilus-McCormick, who was elected to Congress in 2022, had faced the prospect of a rare vote in Congress to expel her after the House Ethics Committee released its findings.

In her statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the panel did not allow her lawyer to adequately prepare her defence and launched the investigation while she was fighting a criminal case, which ultimately "prevented me from defending myself".

Her departure follows the resignations of two other members of Congress who were at risk of being expelled.

Representatives Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Republican, both resigned last week before expulsion proceedings could move forward. They were each accused of sexual misconduct.

The last member of Congress forced from the lower chamber was New York Republican George Santos in 2023, the first expulsion in 20 years.

Cherfilus-McCormick resigned minutes before the House ethics committee was to convene and make a recommendation on the punishment for the 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards, the committee determined she committed.

When the committee did convene, it read her resignation letter and adjourned. The committee no longer had jurisdiction, as Cherfilus-McCormick was no longer a lawmaker.

Cherfilus-McCormick also faces federal charges for allegedly stealing the $5m (£3.8m) in Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) disaster funds.

She and another person named in the federal charging documents allegedly diverted funds from a Fema contract to friends and relatives, who donated the money back to her campaign as purported personal contributions, prosecutors said.

That trial was postponed until February 2027.

She faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted.

Last week, US House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he thought Cherfilus-McCormick's fate was sealed on Capitol Hill.

"The ethics committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," he said. "I think the facts are indisputable at this point."

The committee found "clear and convincing evidence" that Cherfilus-McCormick violated House rules, he said.

Before her resignation, House Democratic leaders had refrained from publicly criticising Cherfilus-McCormick, saying they would wait to see the ethics committee's recommendation.

On Tuesday, the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, said: "She did the right thing on behalf of her constituents."