The Republican-led House voted 413 to 2 Tuesday to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina over findings that he sexually harassed two young female staff members. It is only the 29th censure in House history. The last was in 2025, when Rep. Al Green of Texas was censured for interrupting a joint address to Congress by President Trump.
A censure is the strongest punishment the House can impose on a member short of expulsion. The House Ethics Committee recommended the censure in an Aug. 3 report after a months-long investigation. That report determined Edwards "engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers."
The committee found he created a hostile work environment, citing what it called substantial evidence that he "violated the spirit of the House's prohibition on sexual harassment and unwanted advances." The gifts Edwards gave the two staffers included jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, a KitchenAid mixer, vacations and one-on-one dinners, according to the committee's findings.
The committee laid out what it considered the full pattern of behavior. According to NPR, the report stated: "A Member of Congress should not single out a staffer and isolate them from other staff, make frequent comments regarding that person's appearance and weight, send messages in the middle of the night, text staff deeply personal and seemingly romantic thoughts, intrude on personal occasions without invitation, pay for personal vacations, and spend thousands of dollars on gifts for staffers. That Representative Edwards did all these things to two young staffers, repeatedly over a sustained period, was beyond inappropriate."
Edwards denied the allegations but ended his reelection bid after the committee posted its findings last month. Speaking from the House floor ahead of the vote, he asked his colleagues to "judge me on the facts, not on the inference, insinuation or headlines." He apologized to the two staffers, saying, "I recognize now that my understanding of those relationships may not have always matched yours." He insisted, however, that "regret is not an admission of sexual harassment." He also addressed the spending directly, saying "generosity is not sexual harassment."
The bipartisan committee said it did not find evidence Edwards propositioned the staffers or engaged in sexual activity with them. It said, however, that Edwards appeared not to understand that this did not insulate him from sexual harassment claims.
The investigation into Edwards was one of several the ethics committee has taken up this Congress involving allegations of sexual misconduct, assault or other improprieties.
