Bipartisan Expulsion Push Roils Congress Amid Ethics Scandals

A rare bipartisan effort to hold members of Congress accountable is gaining momentum even as the institution's existing ethics machinery shows its limitations. The resignations this month of Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, have created fresh pressure on remaining lawmakers facing serious allegations, with expulsion efforts now targeting both a Florida Republican accused of sexual misconduct and a Florida Democrat convicted on more than two dozen ethics violations.

The House Ethics Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday afternoon on Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was found guilty of steering more than $5 million in federal disaster relief funds toward her own campaign. The Justice Department indicted her last year on related criminal charges, which she has denied. Multiple Democrats told Axios they are prepared to support expulsion if the committee recommends it, a notable shift given the historical reluctance of both parties to vote against their own. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said members will review the facts after the hearing.

Cherfilus-McCormick has refused calls to resign, telling Fox News Digital that leaving now would mean abandoning her district. A successful expulsion vote would mark just the seventh in House history and the first since George Santos was removed in 2023. The threshold is high: a simple majority is required, but political realities mean both parties typically need to align.

At the same time, Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, has filed a resolution to expel Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican under Ethics Committee investigation for allegations including violence against women, stolen valor, profiting from federal contracts, and misusing campaign funds. Mace previously attempted to censure Mills and remove him from committees, an effort that stalled when both parties blocked it. "The Swamp has protected Cory Mills for too long," she said in a statement, adding that anyone voting to retain him would be "voting to protect a woman beater and a fraud."

Mills responded on X by accusing Mace of engaging in political theater and ignoring due process, while pointing to her own ongoing ethics inquiries. The back-and-forth illustrates how personal and partisan grievances can complicate what proponents describe as a broader reform effort.

The recent resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales were not the product of the Ethics Committee alone. Instead, a bipartisan pair, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico, built a coalition threatening expulsion that made staying in office untenable. Swalwell faced accusations from five women, including claims of rape. Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staff member in violation of House rules; that staffer later died by suicide. The cases have drawn unusual agreement across ideological lines. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the resignations a turning point but insisted more work remains, specifically naming Mills as a priority. Rep. Lauren Boebert has called for stripping both men of their federal pensions.

These developments expose long-standing weaknesses in how Congress regulates itself. The Ethics Committee, created in 1967, has a track record of slow-moving investigations that often conclude after the subject has resigned or after public attention has faded. Findings frequently remain private. Leadership in both parties has shown limited appetite for acting decisively until external pressure, often from younger or more confrontational members, forces the issue.

The push for accountability has taken extreme rhetorical turns. Rep. Clay Fuller, a Georgia Republican who assumed a seat previously held by Marjorie Taylor Greene, told a conservative podcast that lawmakers who commit rape while in positions of public trust should face the death penalty. He framed the proposal as targeted legislation for those who betray public confidence, though such language risks turning a serious conversation about institutional integrity into partisan spectacle.

Yet the underlying pattern is difficult to dismiss. Allegations of financial self-dealing, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power have surfaced across party lines. Democrats appear ready to abandon Cherfilus-McCormick in significant numbers. Republicans face their own internal divisions over Mills. The involvement of figures as disparate as Ocasio-Cortez and Boebert suggests that public tolerance for congressional misbehavior may have reached a limit that transcends typical polarization.

Still, the focus on individual punishment risks obscuring deeper structural problems. The House has never developed reliable, independent mechanisms for investigating and sanctioning its members that both sides trust. Ethics processes remain vulnerable to partisan capture or mutual protection arrangements. When the system only produces consequences after sustained external pressure and media attention, it reinforces public cynicism about whether anyone inside the institution is truly committed to self-governance.

The coming days will test whether the current momentum produces lasting change or simply another cycle of selective outrage. Tuesday's Ethics Committee hearing on Cherfilus-McCormick, the pending vote on Mace's expulsion resolution, and the broader conversation about what constitutes accountability will determine if Congress can demonstrate it retains the capacity to police itself. History suggests skepticism is warranted, but the unusual cross-aisle alliances forming around these cases offer a narrow opening for reform that extends beyond any single lawmaker.