0:37Rep. Cory Mills departs from the U.S. Capitol following the final votes before the August break, July 23, 2025.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The House Ethics Committee convened on Wednesday and voted to form an investigative panel to delve into accusations that Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills violated campaign finance regulations and was involved in sexual impropriety and intimate partner violence.
The significant action from the committee occurred just before a vote Wednesday evening concerning GOP Rep. Nancy Mace's proposal, which aimed to censure Mills and strip him of his House committee posts.
In the end, the House voted 310-103 to send the censure measure targeting Mills to the House Ethics Committee — preventing the legislative body from having to offer its judgment on publicly condemning the congressman.
A striking scene unfolded on the House floor as the clerk recited Mace's censure resolution aloud in the chamber.
Mace — who was situated merely a few feet from Mills — fixed her gaze on the Florida congressman.
The two legislators seemed to engage in a verbal exchange on the floor. "You're a disgrace," Mace told Mills.
The vote count was scattered. Democrats were divided on the vote, and a dozen lawmakers voted present.
Mills introduced the motion to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee as soon as the clerk concluded reading the Mace censure resolution.
Rep. Cory Mills departs from the U.S. Capitol following the final votes before the August break, July 23, 2025.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
ABC News has contacted Mills' office regarding the ethics committee's previous action to probe the allegations.
Mills was elected to the House to represent Florida's 7th District back in 2022 and was reelected in 2024. He is a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees.
In October, a judge in Florida issued a protective order against Mills following accusations by a former girlfriend that he threatened to circulate sexually explicit videos of her, according to legal documents.
The judge mandated that the congressman abstain from contacting Lindsey Langston, who was crowned Miss United States in 2024 and is a Florida Republican state committeewoman from Columbia County.
Langston asserted in July that Mills had threatened to disseminate videos of her subsequent to their separation earlier in the year and that he had threatened to inflict harm on any future romantic partners, as per a report received from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office in Florida.
In a statement to ABC News before the order was given, Mills stated, "These assertions are untrue and distort the essence of my interactions," and he accused a former Florida primary challenger of "exploiting the legal framework to initiate a political assault against the individual who defeated him."
In the order, the judge declared that he did not consider Mills' testimony to be "truthful."
Will Steakin of ABC News contributed to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
