Dem
47
GOP
53
The House Ethics Committee held a 7-hour-long public hearing about the wheelings and dealings of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL). That was followed by late-night private deliberations. The committee concluded that she had 27 ethics violations, including funneling millions of dollars of federal funds to her campaign account. They also found money laundering, making false statements, campaign finance violations, and misusing official funds. In short, she is an all-purpose crook. The panel said there is plenty of evidence of her crimes.
In addition, the DoJ has indicted her for channeling $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to her campaign. If convicted, she could get 53 years in federal prison.
The panel will meet again in April to decide how to punish her. She is almost certainly guilty of violating multiple federal laws AND the Republicans have a (meager) 218-214 majority in the House. They would dearly love to make that 218-213 by expelling Cherfilus-McCormick. If it came to a vote and Democrats voted not to expel her, it would look bad and it wouldn't actually work since every Republican would vote for expulsion.
However, this is not so cut and dried. The Republicans also have a problem. Rep. Vicente Gonzales (R-TX) isn't a thief, like Cherfilus-McCormick, but he also isn't as clean as a hound dog's tooth. He pressured a married staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, to send him naughty pictures of herself and then had an affair with her. She apparently found herself in an untenable position and took her own life. Some Republicans, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), have called for Gonzales to resign or be expelled.
If Republicans insist that Cherfilus-McCormick go, but they are willing to keep Gonzales, that will look hypocritical and Democrats will exploit it. If they agree to expel both members, there is no gain, except that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) might schedule the special election to replace Gonzales as soon as Texas law allows whereas Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) might try to delay the special election until Nov. 3. This could give the Republicans an extra seat later in the year. Currently there are three House vacancies, two in red districts and one in a blue district. (V)