Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted on corruption charges this week, joining two of her colleagues.
House Democrats have made clear in recent months that along with affordability and health care, they plan to dedicate a sizable chunk of their anti-Trump 2026 midterm messaging strategy to hitting the White House on corruption.
The fact that three House Democrats — Representatives Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Fla.), LaMonica McIver (N.J.), and Henry Cuellar (Texas) — are currently under federal indictment could complicate those efforts.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department indicted Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants on charges of “stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign.”
This indictment is expected to cause major headaches for congressional Democratic leaders as they look to keep the focus on Trump ahead of the midterms. In keeping with House Democratic caucus rules, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement on Thursday announcing that Cherfilus-McCormick will step down from her leadership role as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. But, he added, “She is entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence.”
The House set a new precedent on how to handle congressional indictments when the lower chamber voted to expel newly pardoned former Congressman George Santos before he was convicted on charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud, and Republicans aren’t about to let Democrats forget it. Representative Greg Steuebe (R., Fla) has already made clear that if Cherfilus-McCormick doesn’t voluntarily resign, he’ll force a House floor vote on his resolution to expel her from Congress.
This week’s Cherfilus-McCormick indictment comes after Representative McIver was hit with a three-count indictment in June for “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers” outside an immigration detention facility in Newark.
And let’s not forget Representative Henry Cuellar, the Texas Democrat who was reelected in 2024 after he and his wife were indicted in May 2024 over a bribery scheme. House Democrats’ campaign arm is still contributing financially to Cuellar’s 2026 reelection bid even after the Justice Department made clear over the summer that it intends to move forward with its case.
Yes, affordability concerns, redistricting, and historical trends suggest that House Republicans are likely to have a very tough time holding their narrow majority in the 2026 midterm cycle. But these indictments could complicate Democrats’ messaging focus as elected officials from the minority party continue to hit the administration on an array of corruption-focused issues, from the Epstein files and Trump’s controversial second-term pardons to the Justice Department’s prosecutions of high-profile Democrats and perennial allegations that Trump and his family are profiting off the presidency.