A major setback for the Haitian community in the United States.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., the first Haitian American Democrat ever elected to Congress, resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, just minutes before the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to recommend disciplinary action against her, NBC News reported.
Her resignation, effective immediately, followed the bipartisan panel’s finding last month that she violated 25 House rules and ethics violations tied to allegations that she funneled millions of dollars in federal disaster relief funds into her 2021 congressional campaign, NBC News reported.
“Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement posted on X, per NBC News. “I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.”
She has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the separate federal charges she faces.
Cherfilus-McCormick, 47, made history in January 2022 when she won a special election to succeed the late Rep. Alcee Hastings, becoming the first Haitian American Democrat elected to the U.S. House. She represented Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which covers parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties and includes one of the largest Haitian American populations in the country.
She served on the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Haitian Caucus and the Caribbean Caucus, according to her official biography.
For the Haitian diaspora in South Florida and across the United States, her departure removes one of the most visible Haitian American voices in Washington during an especially fraught moment for the community. In January 2026, Cherfilus-McCormick appeared at a rally in Fort Lauderdale in support of extending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants, according to WLRN.
The Allegations
The congresswoman was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2025 on charges of stealing and laundering federal disaster funds, per CNBC and NPR.
Prosecutors allege that Trinity Healthcare Services, her family’s health care company, received a roughly $5 million overpayment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency through a COVID-19 vaccination contract, according to NBC News. The Department of Justice has alleged that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother never returned the money, routed it through multiple accounts, and used portions of it to fund her successful 2022 special election campaign.
Among other expenditures, the DOJ alleges she used some of the funds to buy a $109,000, 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring, NBC News reported.
Her federal criminal trial, originally scheduled for 2026, has been delayed until February 2027 — well after the November midterm elections.
Her attorney, William Barzee, told CNN that the Ethics Committee process had been unfair. “She was put in an absolutely terrible position by the Ethics Committee. This was not a fair process. She has a pending criminal case down in the Southern District of Florida. She wasn’t able to defend herself,” Barzee said.
If convicted on the federal charges, Cherfilus-McCormick could face more than 50 years in prison, according to NBC News.
A Vote That Will No Longer Happen
Had she remained in Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick would likely have faced a House floor vote on her expulsion later this week, CNN reported. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., had publicly committed to filing a motion to expel her, according to Fox News.
Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote of the House, meaning roughly 70 Democrats would have had to join Republicans to oust her — a high threshold that House Democratic leadership had been under mounting pressure to clear.
Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said the panel “now has lost jurisdiction on this matter” as a result of the resignation, but defended the committee’s two-and-a-half-year investigation as “a very deliberate process,” per NBC News.
According to the Associated Press via Spectrum News, the investigation produced 59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents.
Third Resignation in Eight Days
Cherfilus-McCormick is the third House member to resign in just over a week, NBC News reported. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, both announced their resignations on April 13 ahead of potential expulsion votes tied to separate allegations of sexual misconduct.
Only six members have ever been expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives in the nation’s history, according to NBC News. The most recent was former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who was expelled in December 2023 in a 311-114 vote.
Reaction to the resignation was swift. “Corruption has no place in Congress,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement shared by the Associated Press. “Now it’s Cory Mills’ turn to resign,” referring to the Florida Republican congressman currently under separate Ethics Committee investigation for alleged campaign finance violations, misuse of congressional resources, and sexual misconduct allegations. Mills has denied wrongdoing.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., credited Cherfilus-McCormick for her contributions during her tenure, Axios reported.
Florida’s 20th Congressional District will now remain vacant until Gov. Ron DeSantis calls a special election to fill the seat.
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Sources: NBC News, CNN, Associated Press
