House Democrats Are Ready To Throw One Of Their Own Out Of Congress

Capitol Hill has never been a particularly ethical place, but complaints of wrongdoing on both sides of the aisle have led to a recent spike in efforts to remove sitting lawmakers.

One new development involves Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who is facing a House Ethics Committee decision as dozens of her fellow Democrats seem eager to join Republicans in voting to expel her.

While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) only said the party will “follow the facts and apply the relevant law” when it comes to allegations that Cherfilus-McCormick laundered millions of COVID-relief dollars, other Democrats were more decisive.

As Axios reported:

“The charges and examination are incredibly, incredibly serious and I think we have to hold ourselves to high standards here in the Congress,” Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) told Axios.

• “We need to make sure we can tell the American people that they can trust in their lawmakers,” said Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.).
• Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), John Larson (D-Conn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) all told Axios they expect to vote for expulsion if that is what the Ethics Committee recommends.
• “I’m going to take their recommendation very seriously,” said Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
• Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.) went one step further, telling Axios expulsion is “something we should take a look at seriously even if it’s not” what the committee recommends.

Between the lines: Lawmakers widely expect Ethics to recommend expulsion and, granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal caucus dynamics, said it may not even matter even if party leadership gets on board.

• “Even if they don’t, there are still going to be enough votes,” one senior House Democrat told Axios.

Some House Democrats think Jeffries is trying to convince Cherfilus-McCormick to resign on her own, but many in the party appear willing to force the matter if it comes to that.

Either way, the congressional intrigue is serving as fodder for plenty of social media chatter in recent days:

JUST IN — Speaker Johnson is ready to EXPEL Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress after ethics investigation!

BOOM! pic.twitter.com/15Mj4IssOH

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 14, 2026

Sheila McCormick (D-Fl) remains a sitting member of the U.S. House even though she was INDICTED by the DOJ in NOVEMBER 2025 on charges related to allegedly stealing millions in FEMA/COVID relief funds and using some for her 2021 campaign.

In March 2026, the House Ethics…

— Sabrina (LionHearted) (@LionHearted76) April 12, 2026

But with so much corruption in DC, many commenters said the current efforts to clear out Congress only address the tip of the iceberg:

Insane that Ilhan Omar still isn't on this list for known immigration fraud and fake business assets.

— NorthStarRight (@NorthStarRight) April 12, 2026

Why isn’t the Congresswoman who attacked an ICE officer and was charged for it included ?? @RepLuna @RepBrandonGill ???

— I ❤️ Winning 🇺🇸 (@PatriotMarie70) April 12, 2026

Fox News provided an update on Tuesday, noting that the Florida Democrat remains defiant in the face of bipartisan calls for her to step down:

“For those asking whether I plan to resign, the answer is no,” Cherfilus-McCormick recently told Fox News Digital. “This is not the time to abandon the district, not when they too are fighting for their future.”

A successful expulsion vote would make Cherfilus-McCormick the first lawmaker since former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in 2023 to be expelled by the House. Just six lawmakers have been expelled from the House in U.S. history.

Cherfilus-McCormick was found guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations involving financial misconduct during a rare House ethics trial in March. She has denied any wrongdoing and is facing a separate criminal trial after being indicted by a federal grand jury in 2025.

The guilty ethics verdict centered on a charge that Cherfilus-McCormick funneled more than $5 million in disaster relief funds to her campaign that was improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company.

She did not try to return the money, which amounted to more than 100 times what the government owed the family-run company.

Here’s some insight into what to expect from Tuesday’s ethics hearing:

What’s your take?