WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee will hold a public hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday to determine whether any punishment is warranted for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick after finding she committed 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards, including breaking campaign finance laws. The panel's adjudicatory subcommittee held a public trial and determined that 25 of the 27 allegations against her had been proven.

The committee's two-year investigation issued 59 subpoenas, conducted 28 witness interviews and reviewed more than 33,000 pages of documents. In January, the Ethics Committee released a report concluding there was substantial reason to believe Cherfilus-McCormick violated federal laws and House rules. Committee investigators found "substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct," according to the 59-page report.

In November, the Justice Department charged Cherfilus-McCormick with stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for her campaign. Florida mistakenly overpaid her family's health care business by about $5 million in COVID-19 disaster relief funds, which she is accused of using to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members. She pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and says she is not guilty of ethics violations.

Cherfilus-McCormick declined to testify at a previous Ethics Committee hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, argued that the Ethics Committee should have allowed a thorough ethics trial with witnesses and evidence. Supporters sent letters signed by local faith leaders, union officials and others urging the committee to proceed with caution to protect representation.

Rep. Greg Steube said he will move to expel Cherfilus-McCormick after the Ethics Committee recommends punishment. Expulsion of a House member requires a two-thirds vote in the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "The facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it'll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled."

Only six members of the House have been expelled: three for fighting for the Confederacy, two following criminal convictions, and one, George Santos, for ethics violations. Santos served time in prison for defrauding his campaign donors and received clemency from President Donald Trump.