Expelling a duly elected member of Congress is something that should only be done with sober thought and due deliberation. Such actions are rare, for good reason. But there are times when the case for expulsion is simply too great for House leaders to ignore.
This is one of those times. Rep. Cory Mills, whose district takes in all of Seminole County and the southern half of Volusia County, is now under a restraining order that protects one of his ex-girlfriends from harassment and threats of violence. That order, issued Tuesday afternoon, found that 22-year-old Lindsey Langston — winner of the 2024 Miss United States pageant — had “reasonable cause to believe she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of another act of dating violence” at the hands of the 45-year-old congressman.
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Note that word, “another.” It’s doing double duty. The Columbia County judge who issued the order found reasonable suspicion to believe that Mills repeatedly harassed Langston, including barely veiled threats to release intimate videos and harm men she dated in the future. The court’s findings do not reach the level of a criminal conviction, but they are damning nonetheless.
Langston is not the only woman to ask for protection against Mills; in fact, she testified that she decided to break up with him after discovering he had another girlfriend. In February, Sarah Raviani called police to the Washington, D.C., home she shared with Mills after a domestic clash in which Mills “grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door,” leaving her bruised, police reports show. Raviani later recanted her claims, though the official incident report says that police heard a voice message from Mills instructing her to lie about the incident.
It’s unclear whether Mills was still married at the time of either incident. Until recently, the website of a defense-contracting company Mills founded listed Rana Al Saadi, who married Mills in 2014, as its head; her LinkedIn page still names her as executive chairwoman of the company they co-founded.
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And that leads directly to an investigation the House Committee on Ethics already has underway. In December 2024 , the Office of Congressional Conduct referred multiple allegations of official misconduct — including questionable campaign finance reports and suspected deception in his personal financial disclosures — to the Ethics Committee. The most serious charge before the Ethics Committee: Pacem, the name for a pair of weapons businesses Mills founded, holds contracts with the federal government. Depending on Mills’ level of ownership while he served in Congress (and in particular, served on the House Armed Services Committee) that could be a violation of congressional conflict-of-interest laws.
There’s more — so much more. One of the earliest accusations against Mills — who heavily emphasized acts of Army heroism in his campaigns — is that he significantly misrepresented his military record. Before the 2024 election, the Sentinel talked to three high-ranking military officers who said he’d made claims (including service as an Army sniper) that do not correlate to his official service record.
It’s important to say that Mills has not been convicted of any crimes. But the complaints we’ve listed here are backed with weighty evidence, including documents and testimony. Members of Congress should consider its most recent expulsion: In 2023, George Santos, R-N.Y., was removed from office. The official resolution that sealed his fate listed three grounds, including untruthful campaign-finance reports as well as gaps in personal financial disclosures, violation of federal conflict-of-interest laws and sexual misconduct.
Put all the pending allegations against Mills together, and it’s clear: The conduct he’s accused of is much worse than the charges that brought Santos down.
House leaders have abundant justification to consider ending Mills’ time in Congress. They should at least escalate the Ethics Committee investigation to a public inquiry and hold hearings, but it makes the most sense to fast-track the proceedings and give the majority-Republican voters of District 7 time to choose a replacement. (If Mills is removed, the seat will be filled by special election.)
The longer Mills remains in office, the more damage he does to the reputation of the House — and the less he will be able to do for District 7. The district, and the nation, deserve better.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com