House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said Wednesday that the party may move to expel Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) if House Republicans go after Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL).
Mills and Cherfilus-McCormick are awaiting the results of the House Ethics Committee’s respective investigations into their alleged misconduct. The Republican is facing scrutiny related to allegations of dating violence and campaign finance violations, while the Democrat is accused of the latter.
Their investigations mark the latest ethics scandals rocking the House after Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) resigned this week due to sexual assault allegations.
When asked how House Democrats will respond if Republicans propose an expulsion for Cherfilus-McCormick next week, Aguilar said that “all options are on the table.” His comment suggests Democrats may put forward an expulsion resolution for Mills in this case.
“We reserve the right to respond based on how Republicans treat this,” the top Democratic leader said at a press conference. “If they want to treat this overly political, then we respect that and we’ll respond to that.”
The House Ethics Committee is set to reveal the Florida Democrat’s formal punishment on Tuesday after the panel found her guilty of 25 counts of financial misconduct, including campaign finance violations. Mills is undergoing a similar process for the slew of allegations facing him.
Aguilar declined to comment further on disciplining the two embattled House members until the ethics investigations are over.
“We’ll see what the committee comes back with as a recommendation for the sanctions,” Aguilar told reporters. “I’m not going to prejudge what they’re going to put forward. We will react when they put something out, and we’ll see what steps we take on the House floor after that.”
Swalwell and Gonzales were threatened with expulsion, but they avoided the process by voluntarily tendering their resignations on Tuesday.
Aguilar and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, both denied any knowledge of Swalwell’s sexual misconduct before the allegations came out late last week.
Aguilar said he was “shocked and sad” to hear about the salacious claims, and Lieu said he had “no idea” about them.
The expulsion efforts are now focused on Mills and Chefilus-McCormick, both of whom have strongly denied wrongdoing.
HOUSE TURNS FOCUS TO CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK AND MILLS IN ETHICS CRACKDOWN: ‘TWO DOWN, MORE TO GO’
“I’ve never sexually harassed and/or had any complaints by any staffers or interns on the Hill. It’s just not even a fair comparison,” Mills said of the alleged similarities between his case and those of Swalwell and Gonzales. “This is obviously a political Democratic tit-for-tat.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) supports the idea of potentially expelling Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress, saying the “facts are indisputable.” The congresswoman has repeatedly challenged the allegations that she stole $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funds to finance her 2022 congressional campaign and enrich herself. Separately, she faces a federal indictment for the misuse of said funds.