Mills says he will not resign as House ethics probe grows

Cory Mills said he will stay in Congress even as the House Ethics Committee investigates allegations of sexual misconduct and or dating violence, campaign finance violations and other reported misconduct. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the Florida Republican said there was "absolutely no reason to resign" and said House Speaker Mike Johnson had told him not to step down.

The refusal puts Mills in the center of a widening Capitol Hill accountability fight, one that now includes a formal push to remove him from the House. On April 20, Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution to expel Mills, saying he was unfit to serve. Mace had already called on Mills, along with Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell, to resign or face expulsion in an April 13 press release.

Johnson has signaled that he does not want House Republicans policing one another through expulsions and prefers to let the Ethics Committee process run its course. Mills echoed that logic, saying Johnson told him not to resign and that "this is why we have this process." For now, that posture has given Mills breathing room even as the investigation advances.

Several lawmakers in both parties have said they want to wait for the committee’s findings before taking action against him. Politico reported April 15 that Mills appeared likely to be spared for now, in part because Republicans and Democrats were leaning on the pending ethics review and because he was not facing a federal indictment or sexual-misconduct charges. Mills has denied wrongdoing and argued that he is being unfairly grouped with other lawmakers under scrutiny.

The broader ethics upheaval has already forced movement elsewhere on the Hill. Gonzales and Swalwell resigned on April 13, and Cherfilus-McCormick remained under pressure after officials said a House Ethics Subcommittee found she violated ethics rules in connection with alleged misuse of $5 million in FEMA funds. Mills’ case now tests how far Congress is willing to go before its own procedures become a shield for members under fire.