Democrats face test as rare Ethics hearing examines Cherfilus-McCormick fraud allegations

A rare public hearing of the House Ethics Committee on Thursday to examine allegations that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) stole millions in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds will put Democrats in a tough spot, complicating an anti-corruption message they are hoping will help them flip the House in November’s midterms.

Behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Democrats are hammering President Trump with a long list of fraud and self-dealing accusations, highlighting the president’s penchant for using the office to enrich himself and his family.

Those are the charges facing Cherfilus-McCormick, who is accused of stealing $5 million from FEMA and using part of it to fund her first successful run for Congress in 2021. 

Cherfilus-McCormick has maintained her innocence, saying she’s the target of a political witch hunt conducted by Trump’s Justice Department. Yet fellow Democrats say she’s feeling the heat, going so far as to seek a presidential pardon during last year’s White House Christmas party, according to a source familiar with the exchange. 

Jeffries has stood by her in the wake of the November indictment, saying she “is entitled to the presumption of innocence like every other American.”

But a number of rank-and-file Democrats have reservations, warning that a blanket defense of Cherfilus-McCormick could send the message that the party views matters of criminal justice through a partisan lens — and weaken their campaign message that Republicans are the party of fraud and corruption.

“How do you maintain your integrity and objectivity — you’re sitting as a judge now — so how do you maintain that credibility if you’re going to treat Democrats better than Republicans?” Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said. “That’s tough to explain.”

The notoriously opaque House Ethics Committee has not held a public hearing to consider allegations against a member since 2010, when it found former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) guilty on 11 ethics charges, including tax violations and improper disclosures related to rental income. The full House voted soon afterwards to censure Rangel, but he did not leave Congress until 2017.

Thursday’s hearing, conducted by the Ethics panel’s adjudicatory subcommittee, will end that long hiatus, putting the case of Cherfilus-McCormick before the public — and the C-SPAN cameras — for the first time since her November indictment.

Heading into the meeting, Democratic leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach. 

“We believe that Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick has an opportunity to defend herself both from the allegations here under the dome as well as those in a courtroom,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus. “After the conclusion of those, we will see what happens.”

Democrats weren’t as cautious in 2023, when former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was expelled from the House for alleged campaign finance law violations before he was convicted of any crime. All but two House Democrats voted in favor of expulsion, raising questions about whether Democrats will hold their own to the same standard.

Some say they’re poised to do just that.

“She’s in a very similar situation,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). “And if it turns out to be egregious, and the facts speak for themselves, I don’t see why — I wouldn’t treat her any differently than I did Santos.”

Cherfilus-McCormick in November was indicted alongside three others, including her brother, for stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds that were improperly paid to her family’s company — and then using that money for her congressional campaign and to enrich herself, including on a large, yellow diamond ring that she appeared to be wearing in her official Congressional portrait. 

Cherfilus-McCormick in February pleaded not guilty to those charges. And this week, she hammered the Ethics Committee for declining her entreaties to delay Thursday’s hearing, saying it denied her legal team a “reasonable time to prepare.”

“That raises serious concerns about due process and the fundamental rights every American is entitled to under our Constitution,” she said in a statement. 

“While I am limited in what I can address due to an ongoing federal matter, I have cooperated fully within those constraints,” she continued. “I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight and challenge these inaccuracies, when I am legally able to do so.”

She called on the committee — which, before Santos, typically deferred action when federal charges were pending — to “follow its own precedents and uphold fairness and not allow this process to be driven by politics or numbers.”

Her stunning indictment was immediately met with Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) filing a resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from the House. Steube, though, held off on forcing a vote on expelling her until after the Ethics panel completes its process.

An investigative subcommittee formed to look into the matters surrounding Cherfilus-McCormick had been investigating her long before the indictment, though. In January, the subcommittee released a 59-page statement of the congresswoman’s alleged violations. 

Steube said he is ready to force a vote on his expulsion resolution as soon as the Ethics panel makes a formal recommendation to the House. He expects that recommendation to happen when Congress returns from an early April recess — and even before the hearing, said he sees no chance that the panel does not recommend expulsion.

“$5 million, 15 indictments — like, if she’s found guilty on all 15 of those charges, she’s going to serve 53 years in prison,” Steube said.

The Ethics panel is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, meaning any recommendation against her will require support from at least one Democrat.

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