Cherfilus-McCormick is third lawmaker to quit, as wave of scandal swamps US Congress

The Florida Democrat is accused of diverting millions of dollars in federal disaster funds for political purposes

A Democratic lawmaker resigned on Tuesday, becoming the third member of the US House of Representatives to step down in just over a week as a wave of ethics scandals engulfs Congress.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida announced her immediate resignation ahead of a scheduled disciplinary hearing by the House Ethics Committee, which had been weighing potential sanctions over a string of campaign finance violations.

Her departure follows the recent resignations of Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales, who stepped down amid separate sexual misconduct allegations, fuelling a rare bipartisan reckoning over lawmakers’ treatment of staff in Congress.

Cherfilus-McCormick had been accused of diverting millions of dollars in federal disaster funds for political purposes and is facing a federal criminal case.

She denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.

In a statement, she denounced the process as unfair, saying the Ethics Committee “refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defence” and describing the proceedings as “a witch hunt”.