Talk of the Town
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday effectively killed a proposed congressional map that could have allowed Republicans to flip the seat held by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, a major rebuff to a mid-decade redistricting effort promoted by President Donald Trump.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(WASHINGTON) — A special panel of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee determined on Friday that Florida Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was guilty of 25 ethics violations, including commingling of campaign and personal funds.
The determination came after the panel held a rare public hearing on Thursday to consider whether Cherfilus-McCormick violated House rules amid sweeping allegations of fraud against her — and a four-count federal indictment.
The panel said in a statement that deliberations in the case “lasted until well past midnight” and that they found “clear and convincing evidence” that the congresswoman was guilty of all but two of the 27 counts.
“We had a good, robust discussion on all counts, voted on all counts, and we were able to find agreement on 25 of the 27 counts,” Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told ABC News on Friday morning.
The ethics violations include acceptance of improper campaign contributions, false statements, commingling of campaign and personal funds and reporting errors on financial disclosures.
The full House Ethics Committee will hold a hearing after the April congressional recess to “determine what, if any, sanction would be appropriate for the Committee to recommend.” The sanction recommendations could include censure or expulsion, which would require a two-thirds majority vote.
“There will be a sanctions hearing,” Guest said. “That date has not been set, but there will be a sanctions hearing sometime, we hope shortly after we return back from the Easter recess.”
Separately, Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted in November by a federal grand jury on charges of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, which she is accused of laundering to support her 2021 congressional campaign.
The indictment alleges Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, received a $5 million overpayment in FEMA funds directed to their family health care company in connection with a contract for COVID-19 vaccination staffing in 2021.
Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the federal criminal charges against her.
During Thursday’s hourslong hearing, lawmakers on the panel questioned Cherfilus-McCormick’s counsel and the committee’s investigative staff about the allegations against the congresswoman.
Cherfilus-McCormick did not address the committee throughout the proceedings, but she took notes and occasionally talked to her attorney.
Her attorney, William Barzee, demanded that his client receive a full hearing — allowing him to call in witnesses.
Guest pushed back on this request, saying Cherfilus-McCormick has refused to cooperate with the panel’s ongoing investigation.
Barzee acknowledged that the congresswoman “made a lot of mistakes” on financial forms.
In a statement to ABC News ahead of Thursday’s hearing, the congresswoman said: “I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight and challenge these inaccuracies, when I am legally able to do so. Make no mistake: I am innocent and I am a fighter. My district is made up of fighters. I will continue to fight for the people I was elected to serve.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said that while he believes in “due process,” the congresswoman “has egregiously violated the law.”
“This is a very serious matter. I think even many Democrats, even members of her own party, have publicly said that the evidence is so stark … but we have to process this internally and see how this goes,” Johnson said Thursday.
The adjudicatory subcommittee that held the hearing is made up of an equal number of three Republicans and three Democrats will hear Cherfilus-McCormick’s case Thursday.
In addition to Guest, the chairman, the subcommittee is made up Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier as ranking member. Democratic Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Glenn Ivey and Suhas Subramanyam and Republican Reps. Ashley Hinson, Brad Knott and Nathaniel Moran also serve on the subcommittee.
“I am deeply disappointed the Committee chose to move forward with this trial while denying my legal team reasonable time to prepare. That raises serious concerns about due process and the fundamental rights every American is entitled to under our Constitution,” the congresswoman said in a statement to ABC News.
Speaker Johnson previously deferred to the members of the House to determine whether the congresswoman should be expelled from the House. The last member to be expelled was former New York GOP Rep. George Santos over using campaign dollars for his personal enrichment in 2023 — only the sixth representative ever ousted.
“Expulsion, obviously, is effectively the political death penalty. There are occasions that meet that standard, but it’s a decision of the body to determine that,” Johnson said.
“You look at all the factors and you — you figure that out. We’ll be doing that here in this case,” Johnson said. “It seems that this member of Congress has egregiously violated the law and exploited taxpayers and all the rest, and that, that would be, it would be a harsh penalty necessary for that.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has promised Democrats won’t help Republicans kick her out of Congress, regardless of the ethics inquiry.
“Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick is entitled to the presumption of innocence, like every other American,” Jeffries told reporters on Feb. 2. “I’m a hard no as it relates to the effort to expel her, and it’s going to fail.”
The last public ethics trial occurred in 2010 when New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel came before the panel. Rangel was later censured over failing to report assets on his financial disclosure forms, improperly obtaining four rent-controlled apartments in New York, and failing to disclose financial arrangements for a villa in the Dominican Republic.
Rangel maintained that he never knowingly broke any laws. “I truly believe I have not been treated fairly,” Rangel told the Ethics Committee before storming out of his hearing.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
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(WASHINGTON) – -The two West Virginia National Guard members shot in November will receive the Purple Heart, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday while addressing troops at the base of the Washington Monument.
Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her injuries on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was shot in the head and remains in recovery, with skull reconstruction surgery scheduled for March.
“One lost, one recovering, both soon to be Purple Heart recipients,” Hegseth said, “because they were attacked by a radical.”
The suspected gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, was arraigned on nine charges Wednesday, including first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill and illegal possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors say they are seeking additional charges that would make Lakanwal eligible for the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty.
Purple Hearts are typically reserved for troops wounded or killed by clearly identified enemy combatants in war zones, with awards for attacks on American soil relatively rare.
The question of eligibility resurfaced after the 2015 shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on a Navy Reserve center and a nearby recruiting station. Four Marines and a sailor died, Abdulazeez was killed by law enforcement.
For months, that attack sat in a bureaucratic gray zone for the Purple Heart. FBI Director James Comey eventually determined the shootings were motivated by foreign terrorist propaganda.
The determination cleared the way for then- Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to announce Purple Hearts would be awarded to the victims of the shooting.
The Trump administration has labeled Lakanwal a terrorist, though it has not publicly produced evidence tying him to any designated terrorist organization.
Lakanwal was among thousands of Afghans evacuated to the United States after the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, and his asylum application was approved in 2025 during the Trump administration.
In Afghanistan, Lakanwal was affiliated with a so-called Zero Unit that worked closely with the CIA and elite special operations units, ABC News reported in December.
Officials with direct knowledge of the matter said he was considered a trusted member of the unit, which carried out American counterterrorism missions.
Investigators also believe Lakanwal was under financial strain after his work permit expired and may have been experiencing a mental health crisis.
“This announcement brings long-overdue honor to their service, offers meaning and reassurance to their families, and stands as a solemn reminder that West Virginia will never forget those who sacrifice in defense of others,” West Virginia GOP Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who called for Purple Hearts to be awarded after the ambush, said in a statement to ABC News.
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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is encouraging Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who are furloughed due to the partial government shutdown to apply for unemployment, according to internal documents reviewed by ABC News.
The shutdown directly affects the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and FEMA, which are not funded until Congress can resolve its differences over funding the agency.
The information went to FEMA employees who are furloughed and now asked to file with unemployment departments in the state in which they are based.
DHS is asking creditors for “flexibility” for its employees “who are experiencing challenges with making timely payments, including consideration of waiving any late fees associated with delayed or incomplete mortgage or rent payments until the situation is resolved.”
“Because DHS employees will not receive pay during the lapse in appropriations, many are experiencing difficulty in meeting their financial obligations, including rent and mortgage payments,” a letter dated March 15 to creditors from DHS says. “This challenge is compounded by the fact that many employees are still affected by the previous 43-day lapse in appropriations. This lapse is expected to be temporary and is entirely beyond our employees’ control.”
Funding for DHS lapsed in mid-February when Democrats refused to vote for it, demanding that reforms be made to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of its immigration enforcement operations, in particular in Minnesota, where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot during encounters with federal agents in January. The Trump administration accuses congressional Democrats of playing politics at the expense of the American people.
“Democrats have cut off resources and funding for FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and thousands of federal law enforcement officers — jeopardizing America’s border security, maritime safety, and ability to respond to emergencies,” the White House said in a statement last week.
Americans’ safety and security are on the line each day the Democrat Shutdown continues.”
On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on Democrats to join forces behind a discharge petition that would fund all DHS agencies except for ICE. A vote on similar legislation failed earlier in the Senate but Jeffries aims to put House Republicans on the record as well, though he would need at least four Republicans to vote with Democrats.
The government was shut down for 43 days in October and November over Democrats’ push to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which were cut in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill.
ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
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