House lawmakers clamoring for ethics reforms after wave of resignations; The Hill, April 23, 2026

  MIKE LILLIS, The Hill; House lawmakers clamoring for ethics reforms after wave of resignations

"The surge of House resignations this month has triggered calls from both parties for a broader overhaul of the ethics process and how the chamber polices its own. 

While many lawmakers have welcomed the hasty departures of former Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), their cases have also stirred up plenty of frustrations about Congress’s internal handling of allegations of misconduct and the pace of the Ethics Committee’s subsequent investigations.

Those frustrations are now morphing into specific calls to revamp the ethics process, with leaders in both parties joining the growing chorus of lawmakers eyeing ways to improve the chamber’s oversight machinery, particularly when it comes to empowering women to report allegations of sexual misconduct."

Democrat Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigns before the House can sanction her in ethics case; AP, April 21, 2026

KEVIN FREKING AND STEPHEN GROVES , AP; Democrat Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigns before the House can sanction her in ethics case

" Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned Tuesday moments before a hearing was to begin to consider what punishment to recommend after a House ethics panel found she had committed numerous campaign finance and reporting violations.

The congresswoman was facing the possible threat of expulsion, something that has only occurred six times in the history of the House. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt. 

It’s the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House lawmaker. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced within hours of each other that they were leaving Congress. Both men were facing sexual misconduct allegations and possible expulsion."

Fiery House hearing ends in guilty ruling for Cherfilus-McCormick; Axios, March 27, 2026

 Andrew Solender , Axios; Fiery House hearing ends in guilty ruling for Cherfilus-McCormick

"A bipartisan panel of House Ethics Committee members found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick(D-Fla.) guilty of financial misconduct and other charges on summary judgment following a testy, hourslong hearing.

Why it matters: The Ethics Committee will meet in mid-April to decide on appropriate punitive action, which could include fines, censure or even expulsion.

• Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has said he plans to force a vote on expelling Cherfilus-McCormickas so on as the Ethics Committee process wraps up.
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• House Democratic leadership has argued such a step should not be taken until Cherfilus-McCormick's criminal trial is resolved — though their members are growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation.
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• Cherfilus-McCormick, for her part, has maintained her innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges against her in her criminal campaign finance case."

Ethics watchdog outlines allegations against Georgia Republican’s chief of staff; Politico, January 5, 2026

 HAILEY FUCHS, Politico; Ethics watchdog outlines allegations against Georgia Republican’s chief of staff

"A nonpartisan Congressional watchdog is alleging that Brandon Phillips, who has served as Rep. Mike Collins’ chief of staff, hired a romantic interest as an office intern and illicitly used his office’s Congressional resources.

The report from the Office of Congressional Conduct, released Monday, also claims the intern “did not perform duties commensurate with her compensation.”

“Based on the foregoing information, the Board finds that there is substantial reason to believe that Mr. Phillips discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges by participating in the retention of an employee with whom Mr. Phillips had a personal relationship,” the report states...

The House Ethics Committee does not comment on ongoing investigations but said it is currently reviewing the allegations against both Collins and Phillips."

Ethics Panel Rebukes Congressman for Wife’s Stock Trade in Firm He Helped; The New York Times, July 25, 2025

 Carl Hulse , The New York Times; Ethics Panel Rebukes Congressman for Wife’s Stock Trade in Firm He Helped

"The House Ethics Committee on Friday rebuked a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and urged him and his wife to sell their holdings in a steel company in his district after a four-year investigation into a stock trade found that he had violated the House’s official code of conduct.

In its report, the committee cited Representative Mike Kelly, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, for a “lack of candor” in its inquiry into 2020 trades by his wife, Victoria, involving a local steel company that was seeking government intervention to prevent layoffs or the closure of its plant in Butler, Pa., in Mr. Kelly’s district.

Mr. Kelly was actively lobbying the Trump administration for trade protections for the plant, newly purchased by the company Cleveland-Cliffs, and learned that the Commerce Department was going to intervene in favor of the firm. The next day — five days before the Commerce action was made public — his wife purchased 5,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock. She later sold the stock at a nearly $65,000 profit, a roughly 285-percent gain.

Members of Congress are prohibited from using confidential information for financial benefit and must disclose transactions by them or close family members valued at more than $1,000, but efforts to tighten those rules or bar lawmakers from trading stocks altogether have so far been unsuccessful. That has created an environment rife with potential conflicts of interest, in which many lawmakers who are active in the stock market have unique insight into or influence over companies whose shares they are buying and selling."