Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Representative Cherfilus-McCormick for comment via email.
Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted last year for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster-relief funds and funneling the money into her congressional campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing.
Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas were the first two House Democrats to call for her resignation.
"You can't crime your way into legitimate power. Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed," Gluesenkamp Perez wrote in a post to X.
Gonzalez also said she should resign, reported Punchbowl News' Max Cohen. Cohen reported that the Texas congressman added, "I mean, what's the difference between that and George Santos?"
Her primary opponent, Elijah Manley, also called for her resignation in a post to X.
"My opponent has been convicted and found guilty by the House Ethics Committee of serious offenses. I have been calling this conduct to question for years. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick must resign from office immediately," he wrote.
The House Ethics Committee's decision lays the groundwork for a vote on her expulsion. It handed down its decision on Friday following a hearing one day earlier.
She did not testify during the hearing, citing the Fifth Amendment, but her attorney, William Barzee, called for a thorough ethics trial where he could present witnesses and evidence to counter House investigators' conclusions.
The committee "found that Counts 1-15 and 17-26 of the SAV had been proven," according to a press release on Friday. The panel did not find her guilty of receiving political help from an organization receiving funding from the Haitian government or for refusing to cooperate with the investigation.
An indictment by the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother Edwin Cherfilus diverted an overpayment linked to a COVID-19 vaccination-staffing contract awarded to their family home health-care business.
Prosecutors say the funds were laundered through multiple accounts to mask their origin, with a substantial portion routed from the FEMA contract into campaign contributions, and that the congresswoman also conspired with her tax preparer to file a false federal return.
She was accused of funding her 2022 campaign through the $5 million overpayment her family's company received from Florida for COVID-19 vaccine services. Barzee argued she was "entitled to that money," but lawmakers were skeptical.
She previously described the indictment as "unjust, baseless" and a "sham," maintaining her innocence.
"The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues. From day one, I have fully cooperated with every lawful request, and I will continue to do so until this matter is resolved," she wrote in a statement released November 20, 2025.
Democratic leadership, who have maintained that she is due her day in court and a presumption of innocence, have not commented on the statement.
Cherfilus-McCormick was elected to Congress in 2022 in a special election to replace the late Representative Alcee Hastings. She represents a solid Democratic seat in Southeast Florida around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. She worked as a health care executive prior to entering Congress.
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick told The Washington Post: "I look forward to proving my innocence. Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: showing up for the great people of Florida's 20th District who sent me to Washington to fight for them."
Representative Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, wrote to X: "Money laundering. False statements. Illegal campaign contributions. Hiding financial disclosures. And Democrats still defend this? This is disgraceful. The American people deserve better than corruption in Congress. I'm ready to expel Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick!"
More details about a potential vote on expulsion have not been made public.