Florida Dem filed for re-election days before resignation as House Ethics Committee ramped up pressure

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is still registered to run for re-election despite having resigned from office amid congressional and federal probes for allegedly mishandling disaster relief funding for personal gain.

On April 17, Cherfilus-McCormick submitted a notice of her candidacy to the Florida Department of State as a Democrat just a week before officially stepping down from office.

She resigned on Tuesday.

The filing raises questions about whether Cherfilus-McCormick believes she can still pursue political office despite facing intense scrutiny at the moment.

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Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cherfilus-McCormick’s decision to resign from office came right before the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to recommend she be punished for misusing disaster relief funding that she allegedly funneled through several companies into her campaign coffers. 

The committee found that she had committed 18 campaign finance violations, five counts of false financial disclosures, three counts of misusing official funds and one count of lack of candor.

Cherfilus-McCormick maintained her innocence but announced that she would defend herself outside of her time in office.

“This was not a fair process. The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense. I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a press release.

“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. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.”

While Cherfilus-McCormick’s departure from Congress halted the Ethics Committee’s authority over her, she also faces federal charges.

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She was indicted by a Miami grand jury in November for allegedly stealing $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet announced a date for a special election to fill her vacant seat.