Dem
51
GOP
49
It appears that "George Santos" is not the only member of the 118th Congress whose books don't seem to quite add up. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) is now the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee; the claims are that during both her special election and regular election campaigns in 2022, the Representative violated campaign finance laws, didn't properly submit disclosure forms, and engaged in improper hiring practices.
Exactly what all of that means is a semi-mystery. The Ethics Committee operates behind closed doors, and so to the extent that details are known, they are scanty and involve things that reporters happen to have uncovered. It's known that Cherfilus-McCormick used some of her office budget to pay for campaign ads, which isn't illegal, but isn't particularly ethical, either. She also had at least one employee who was handling office business without having gone through the proper hiring process for House staffers. Beyond that, specifics are not known, and may never be known.
Given the hyperpartisanship of modern politics, not to mention the score-settling Joe Biden impeachment (see above), one might be tempted to guess that this is a case of House Republicans finding a Democratic member to target so as to pay the blue team back for "Santos." That is not the case, however; the Committee vote in favor of the investigation was unanimous. That's five Republicans and five Democrats. It's also worth noting that, as that 5R/5D breakdown makes clear, the Ethics Committee is always evenly split, so as to eliminate the possibility of partisan witch hunts.
The fact that the committee unanimously agreed that there was enough smoke here to warrant looking into the possibility of fire is not a great sign for Cherfilus-McCormick. If the Committee's report does go against her, it will be exceedingly difficult for her to keep her seat, given the "Santos" precedent. Democrats do not like to look like hypocrites, so those members who voted to expel "Santos" would almost certainly have to vote to expel Cherfilus-McCormick. Heck, even if two-thirds of the "expel Santos" Democrats found some explanation for why the two cases are different, the remainder, combined with the Republicans, would be more than enough to boot her from Congress.
If Cherfilus-McCormick does find herself out of a job, there is zero chance that her district, FL-20, flips to the Republicans. At D+31, it is one of the bluest districts in the nation, and is far and away THE bluest in Florida. That said, the special election to replace her would have to be called by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and he would keep the seat open as long as possible, probably until next year's general election, just like Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is preparing to do with Kevin McCarthy's seat. So, House Democrats are undoubtedly hoping that the charges against Cherfilus-McCormick, whatever they might be, are overblown. (Z)