Haitian-American Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was sworn into office as the newest member of the House on Tuesday night after defeating Republican Jason Mariner in last week’s special election.
The ceremony took place at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Sheila is now the representative for Florida’s District 20, covering parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. The seat was made vacant following Alcee Hasting’s death last April.
“Our district has been without representation for over nine months, so right now, we have to get in and meet the needs of every constituent and reach out to them and ensure that their voices are being heard and their needs are being met,” Cherfilus-McCormick said at the ceremony.
She won office calling for a guaranteed income for most adults of $1,000 a month if they earn less than $75,000 a year. As for how she plans to make good on her proposal, she said her first step would be signing on to a similar bill — the SUPPORT Act from Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Colleagues, including Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart from Florida’s District 25, welcomed Cherfilus-McCormick to the House, saying that she’ll represent a highly diverse congressional district. He noted that she began working in 1999 at Trinity Healthcare Services, an in-home care provider, and eventually became its CEO.
“This once single mother is an example of the American dream and represents the aspirations of so many of our South Florida neighbors,” Diaz-Balart said.
Cherfilus-McCormick told members of the House that she is a child of Haitian immigrants who risked their lives to come to the United States.
“I thank my colleagues who fought for me even before I was born to ensure that immigrants can actually have a place in our country and live the American dream,” she said.
Cherfilus-McCormick tried twice to unseat Hastings in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries. In the 2021 primaries, she edged out Jamaican-born Dale Holnessan by five votes to become the Democratic contender.
