The House voted Wednesday night to refer a resolution to censure Rep. Cory Mills, Florida Republican, for a variety of alleged transgressions to the House Ethics Committee.
The 310-103 vote showed a majority of Republicans and Democrats willing to let Mr. Mills defend himself against the accusations in the Ethics panel before deciding whether to formally reprimand him.
The censure resolution, which also sought to strip Mr. Mills of his committee assignments, includes allegations that he assaulted and harassed romantic partners, violated campaign finance and financial disclosure laws, and misrepresented events of his service in Iraq for which he was bestowed a Bronze Star.
The resolution also charges that companies that Mr. Mills owns “sought, or entered into contracts, to sell munitions to foreign nations” while he has served on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees.
While Democrats have long threatened to censure Mr. Mills when Republicans have brought censure resolutions against their members, the vote was triggered by a member of his own party, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
“There is no honor in Stolen Valor. There is no honor in abusing women. There is no honor in national security issues and arms deals,” she said in one of several social media posts slamming Mr. Mills, another of which referred to him as a “trashcan.”
Mr. Mills denies the accusations and was the member who moved to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee, promising that “cooperating with them is my top priority.”
“I believe all the accusations and false things that are being said will be proven to be absolutely false in many ways,” he said. “I have the evidence and receipts and look forward to working with them.”
Ms. Mace was one of eight Republicans and 95 Democrats who voted against referring the measure to the Ethics Committee, signaling they believe there’s enough evidence already to censure Mr. Mills and remove him from committees.
