Next domino set to fall in House ethics saga

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The fate of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who has been accused of stealing millions of dollars in improperly paid federal disaster funds for her campaign, could be decided today during a disciplinary hearing in the House Ethics Committee.

The hearing comes days after former Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned in the face of sexual misconduct allegations. Her case could also have implications for what happens to Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations including “dating violence,” campaign finance violations and using his position in Congress to direct business toward weapons and defense companies that he operates.

Only six House members have ever been expelled.

If the committee recommends expulsion for Cherfilus-McCormick, it would be a high bar to remove her, as two-thirds of the House are needed to oust a member, requiring support from members of both parties.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) didn’t commit to accepting the punishment that the committee recommends for Cherfilus-McCormick, saying Democrats will meet as a caucus to discuss the results.

But there are already signs that her expulsion would have some bipartisan support.

Multiple Democrats have come out in favor of ousting her, including two who called on her to resign shortly after the Ethics panel came back with its finding of her culpability.

“You can’t crime your way into legitimate power,” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed.”

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) compared Cherfilus-McCormick’s alleged conduct to that of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who in 2023 became the most recent member of Congress to be expelled after he was found to have committed campaign finance violations and other offenses.

Cherfilus-McCormick is facing a wide range of criminal charges related to the allegations; she has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. The trial had been set to start this week but was delayed until next February.

The House Ethics Committee announced late last month that its adjudicatory subcommittee found Cherfilus-McCormick committed 25 ethics violations, out of 27 counts levied against her.

Democrats are demanding that Mills also be expelled, arguing similar conduct should have similar outcomes.

But The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Emily Brooks report an unspoken political dynamic underlying the debate is that neither party wants to give the other an advantage in a narrowly divided House.

That feeling contributed to the dynamics around Swalwell and Gonzales, who resigned on the same day last week in the face of rising bipartisan support to expel them.

That could play out again with Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills, though one complicating factor with the Florida Republican is his ethics investigation isn’t as far along.

The effort to expel Mills also has some support from members of his own party. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who led the charge against Swalwell and Gonzales, said “If they’re doing this s‑‑‑, then they need to go.”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a resolution to expel Mills on Monday. NOTUS reported that he is weighing his own expulsion resolution against Mace and has already drafted it, citing multiple factors, including her tense interaction with security at a South Carolina airport last year.

Following the developments in the cases of current and recent members, the Ethics Committee issued a rare public statement Monday revealing it has conducted 20 investigations into members of the House for allegations of sexual misconduct since 2017.

The panel asked anyone with accusations against a lawmaker to come forward.

The disclosure came amid renewed calls for change in how Congress handles sexual misconduct given the many recent allegations.

▪ The Hill: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faces political gauntlet.

Smart Take with Blake Burman

The AI push has been met with backlash in rural communities across the country. Many residents are concerned about data centers and their impact on utility bills and the environment. The debate is playing out in Wyoming, a state where many data centers have popped up, including new plans for Microsoft to purchase 3,200 acres of land to expand its data center footprint. Gov. Mark Gordon (R) told me he’s in favor of the high-tech buildout.

“When they’re addressing the issues for ratepayers, when they’re addressing the issues of water use, and when they provide good paying jobs in this state, and they use the energy that we produce in abundance, it seems like a pretty good recipe,” Gordon said.

Just........

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