Bipartisan Expulsion Push Roils Congress Amid Ethics Scandals

The House of Representatives is confronting a cascade of scandals that expose the rot at the heart of Washington where both parties have long shielded their own from consequences until public pressure and a handful of rebellious members forced the issue into the open. With ethics hearings unfolding and expulsion resolutions flying Democrats and Republicans alike are watching members accused of everything from funneling millions in disaster relief into their own campaigns to sexual violence and stolen military honors. The sudden burst of activity follows the resignations this week of Rep. Eric Swalwell Democrat of California and Rep. Tony Gonzales Republican of Texas both of whom left only after a bipartisan coalition made their positions untenable.

Swalwell who previously drew scrutiny for his ties to a suspected Chinese spy faced accusations from five women including claims of rape according to those involved in the push for his removal. Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer in direct violation of House rules before the woman later took her own life. Neither man was dragged out by the creaky Ethics Committee which has existed since 1967 but often functions as a black hole where investigations disappear for months or years until the subject quietly slips away. Instead it took Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico building a cross aisle coalition to make staying in office more painful than leaving.

That momentum now threatens others. On Monday Rep. Nancy Mace Republican of South Carolina filed a resolution to expel Rep. Cory Mills Republican of Florida who faces House Ethics Committee scrutiny over allegations of violence against women stolen valor profiting from federal contracts and misusing campaign funds. Mace who previously tried to censure Mills and strip him of committee assignments did not mince words. The Swamp has protected Cory Mills for too long she said in a statement adding that anyone voting to keep him is protecting a woman beater and a fraud.

Mills fired back on X accusing Mace of political theatrics and pointing to her own ethics investigations and allegations of harassment in South Carolina courts. He demanded a vote rather than what he called fundraising stunts and suggested Mace was hardly in a position to lecture on due process. The exchange underscores how these battles quickly turn personal in an institution where mutual protection has been the unwritten rule for decades.

At the same time Democrats appear ready to cut loose one of their own. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick Democrat of Florida is scheduled for a public Ethics Committee hearing Tuesday to recommend punishment after the panel found her guilty of more than two dozen violations tied to a scheme in which she allegedly stole over five million dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief funds and funneled them into her campaign. She has pleaded not guilty to related federal charges and insists she did nothing wrong but that has not stopped roughly thirty House Democrats from telling reporters they are prepared to vote for her expulsion if the committee recommends it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has stayed carefully neutral for now saying members will follow the facts but the writing appears on the wall.

Interviews with more than thirty Democratic lawmakers revealed a party eager to avoid being seen as defenders of a member who misused money intended for Americans hit by disasters. Representatives from both moderate and progressive wings including Angie Craig Eric Sorensen and Jared Golden signaled they would back expulsion. Republicans need roughly eighty Democratic votes to reach the two thirds threshold for removal and it looks increasingly likely they will get them. A successful vote would mark only the seventh expulsion in House history and the first since George Santos was booted in 2023.

The scandals have even prompted bolder talk from some Republicans. Rep. Clay Fuller of Georgia suggested in an interview that lawmakers who betray positions of public trust through serious sexual crimes including rape should face the death penalty. He argued for targeted legislation imposing stiffer penalties on those who abuse power saying average Americans expect the ultimate punishment for rapists and child molesters. While the comment was aimed broadly it came as Swalwell and others have been forced out over misconduct.

Even ideological opposites like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Rep. Lauren Boebert have found common ground in declaring that Congress has a misconduct problem no one inside the building has been willing to solve. Both have called the recent resignations a turning point though they stressed the work is far from over. Luna and Leger Fernandez are already examining Mills and Cherfilus McCormick as the next targets in what they describe as a genuine bipartisan effort to restore some credibility.

For years the Ethics Committee has served more as a shield than a sword allowing allegations of financial corruption sexual misconduct and abuse of office to fester while members continued drawing six figure salaries and generous pensions. The public has grown exhausted with the spectacle of lawmakers who lecture the rest of the country about morality while allegedly beating women stealing relief funds or trading on their positions for personal gain. Whether this sudden flurry of activity represents real change or merely a temporary panic remains to be seen. What is clear is that the protective wall around the Swamp is cracking and some of its most compromised inhabitants are finally feeling the pressure to step aside or be thrown out. The question now is how many more will follow before the institution retreats to its old habits of delay and denial.