A Democratic congressman resigned on Tuesday, becoming the third member of the US House of Representatives to resign in more than a week as a wave of ethics scandals engulfed Congress.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida announced her resignation shortly before a disciplinary hearing scheduled by the House Ethics Committee, which was evaluating possible sanctions over a series of campaign finance violations.
His departure follows the recent resignations of Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales, who resigned amid separate allegations of sexual misconduct, prompting a rare bipartisan reckoning over how lawmakers treat staff in Congress.
Cherfilus-McCormick had been accused of diverting millions of dollars in state disaster funds for political purposes and is facing a federal criminal trial.
He denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.
In his statement, he denounced the process as unfair, saying the Ethics Committee “rejected my new lawyer’s request for time to prepare my defense” and described the case as a “witch hunt”.
