Florida Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick faces expulsion threat over indictment

Justin Papp, CQ-Roll Call on Nov 20, 2025

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WASHINGTON — A day after the Justice Department announced a grand jury has indicted Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick on allegations she used FEMA overpayments to support her 2021 run for office, Rep. Greg Steube said he would try to expel the Democrat from Congress.

The House has spent much of the week on a punishment spree, as other members trade censure threats. But expulsion is a rarer and more serious attempt.

“Defrauding the federal government and disaster victims of $5 million is an automatic disqualifier from serving in elected office,” Steube, a Republican, wrote on X of his fellow Floridian, threatening to trigger a floor vote on his expulsion resolution if she does not resign.

When her family’s health care company, which held a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, received an overpayment of $5 million, Cherfilus-McCormick and others allegedly routed a substantial amount of that toward her congressional campaign, according to a Justice Department release.

“This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement Thursday after the Justice Department’s announcement. “The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues. From day one, I have cooperated with every lawful request, and I will continue to do so until this matter is resolved.”

The Justice Department, in its news release about the indictment, said the case would appear later in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. A search of that court’s records Thursday afternoon did not turn up a case.

Allegations have followed the Florida Democrat for years.

The House Ethics Committee in May released a referral it received from the Office of Congressional Conduct that outlined a series of potential violations, including possibly requesting community project funding and redirecting it to a for-profit entity.

In July, the Ethics panel announced it had voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to review allegations against her.

Following the news of the indictment, Steube initially threatened to try to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and remove her from all committees, but ramped up the attempt on Thursday. In his post Steube said he would file the resolution but only trigger a vote on the floor if she refuses to resign.

A spokesperson for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement Thursday that “pursuant to the rules of the House Democratic Caucus” Cherfilus-McCormick would take leave from her position as ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

“Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has proudly represented the people of Palm Beach and Broward Counties since 2022,” Jeffries’ spokesperson Christie Stephenson wrote. “Consistent with the United States Constitution, she is entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence.”

Expulsion is an exceedingly rare move in the House that requires two-thirds support from all those present and voting, meaning many Democrats would have to cross party lines and support the expulsion effort for it to succeed.

The last member to be booted from the House was New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who was federally indicted on 23 counts including wire fraud, money laundering and stealing public funds. Just five other members were expelled before him — three of whom were removed for supporting the Confederacy in the Civil War.

As the House returned to Washington after the partial government shutdown with a narrow work window before Thanksgiving break, a series of punishment attempts have dominated the floor, leading members to complain of wasted time and an escalating tit-for-tat.

On Tuesday, the House voted voted formally to disapprove of how Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., announced his retirement, essentially paving the way for his chief of staff to secure the Democratic primary nod in his stead. In a rare move, the disapproval resolution was brought by a member of Garcia’s own party, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez of Washington state. Twenty-three Democrats backed the resolution, including Gluesenkamp Pérez.

That same day, Delegate Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, narrowly avoided a censure attempt over her correspondence with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing in 2019. And Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., announced plans to censure Rep. Cory Mills, citing accusations that the Florida Republican threatened to circulate sexual images of an ex and inflated his military record, among other things.

Mills has denied those claims, and survived a second censure attempt Wednesday night, this one led by a member of his own party — Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Mace was part of a group of Republicans who felt others in the GOP voted against the Plaskett censure as a bargaining chip to ward off punishment for Mills.

Ahead of the vote Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee announced it was forming an investigative subcommittee to further probe the allegations made against Mills.

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(Ryan Tarinelli contributed to this report.)