Hakeem Jeffries Is Protecting a Democrat Who Stole $5 Million From Hurricane Victims
A sitting member of Congress was found guilty of stealing $5 million in FEMA money meant for hurricane victims.
She's still in office, but Democrats will soon decide whether she stays there – and Hakeem Jeffries still hasn't said the word "resign."
25 Ethics Violations and Jeffries Won't Say the Word
The House Ethics Committee found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations in March.
The charge at the center of it: she funneled over $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds – money meant for hurricane victims – to her family's healthcare company.
She didn't return any of it.
The amount she took was more than 100 times what the government actually owed her family's company.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2045926641264730217?s=20
Rep. Greg Steube of Florida has vowed to force an expulsion vote Tuesday regardless of what sanction the Ethics Committee recommends.
Expulsion requires a two-thirds majority – meaning Republicans need Democratic votes to get it done.
Jeffries told reporters Monday that Democrats would "follow the facts and apply the relevant law."
He hasn't called for her resignation.
He hasn't condemned what she did.
He held a caucus meeting to discuss her fate instead of publicly demanding she go.
The Party That Runs on Compassion Just Donated to Her Campaign
Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing a 15-count federal indictment handed down in 2025.
Prosecutors have charged her with stealing FEMA money, running a straw donor scheme to hide illegal campaign contributions, and conspiring to file a false federal tax return.
If convicted on all counts, she is looking at more than 50 years in prison.
Her campaign entered April with $4.4 million in debt – mostly legal fees – and $11,000 in the bank.
She is still refusing to suspend her re-election campaign.
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2045523767200231555?s=20
And the Congressional Black Caucus – which has stayed silent on the allegations – donated $5,000 to her campaign in the first quarter of 2026.
The party that tells America it cares about the people in hurricane zones just cut a check to the woman accused of stealing their disaster relief money.
What Happens to Democrats Who Vote No Today
George Santos was expelled from the House in 2023 – the only member removed in the last 150 years.
Cherfilus-McCormick has a federal indictment Santos never had.
She has more than two dozen ethics violations his process never produced.
And Jeffries still won't say the word.
Eric Swalwell resigned last week rather than face expulsion over sexual misconduct allegations.
Tony Gonzales of Texas resigned the same week.
Both of them read the room.
Cherfilus-McCormick is betting Jeffries keeps Democrats in line long enough to run out the clock – a federal judge already pushed her criminal trial to February 2027, conveniently past the August 2026 primary.
Here's what this vote actually decides.
If Democrats block expulsion today, every Republican in a competitive district gets to run the same ad from now until November: your Democrat congressman voted to keep a woman in Congress who stole hurricane relief money for her family.
That's not spin.
That's a 25-count ethics verdict and a federal indictment.
The Democrats who vote no today aren't protecting Cherfilus-McCormick.
They're handing Republicans a weapon they'll use in every swing district in the country – and Hakeem Jeffries knows it.
Sources:
- Adam Pack, "Indicted Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick refuses to resign as expulsion vote looms," Fox News, April 21, 2026.
- Adam Pack, "Anna Paulina Luna says she's 'very confident' votes are there to expel Cherfilus-McCormick," Fox News, April 16, 2026.
- Adam Pack, "Swalwell announces resignation from Congress after sexual misconduct allegations torpedoed gubernatorial bid," Fox News, April 2026.