Mike Johnson says he supports expelling Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick over dozens of ethics violations

By Fox News · Fox News

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, an embattled Florida lawmaker facing a pending criminal indictment, could be the next member of Congress to face expulsion. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday that he would support expelling Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress, citing a bipartisan adjudicatory subcommittee finding her guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations in March. "The Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," Johnson said. "I think the facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it will be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled." The ethics panel’s guilty verdict was the culmination of a yearslong investigation during which the group interviewed hundreds of individuals and reviewed tens of thousands of documents. LAWMAKERS PUT EXPULSION THREATS ATOP HOUSE AGENDA AS RETURN SETS UP HIGH-STAKES WEEK Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., has pledged to introduce an expulsion resolution against Cherfilus-McCormick, but he said he would wait until the ethics panel releases its recommended punishment against the Florida Democrat. The group is scheduled to hold a hearing announcing its suggested sanction for Cherfilus-McCormick next week. Cherfilus-McCormick has continued to deny any wrongdoing and has not signaled that she is considering resigning. The Florida Democrat is also running for reelection ahead of the state’s August primary. It takes a two-thirds majority to expel a lawmaker, meaning a significant number of Democrats would have to support ousting Cherfilus-McCormick for Steube’s measure to be successful. Just a handful of Democrats, including Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, D-Wash., have so far voiced support for Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation if she does not step down. Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, announced plans to resign Monday after both lawmakers faced potential expulsion votes this week. Both men have been accused of sexual misc…