House censures Rep. Edwards 413-2 for persistent inappropriate conduct toward female staffers

The House voted 413-2 on September 1 to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., for what the House Ethics Committee characterized as persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two female staffers. Only Edwards and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., voted against the resolution, per Fox News. The House Ethics Committee investigation, released in early August, found Edwards engaged in conduct that violated House rules related to sexual harassment and created a toxic workplace marked by 'rumors and innuendo,' per CBS News. The committee found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with the women or explicitly propositioned them, per CBS News. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., who chairs the Ethics Committee, told Fox News the investigation found Edwards' 'conduct toward two young female staffers was inappropriate and violated rules prohibiting sexual harassment' and that it created a hostile work environment. Guest said, per Fox News: 'The committee found that Representative Edwards was, at a minimum, blind to the reality and at worst dismissive of the impact his conduct had on the career and well-being of the women on his staff.' Over an extended period, Edwards provided lavish gifts including jewelry, designer purses, guns, flowers, a KitchenAid mixer, and a robotic vacuum, per CBS News. He arranged for a singer to perform Ed Sheeran's 'Hills of Aberfeldy' at one woman's birthday party, introducing it as being 'from a special someone,' per CBS News. Edwards wrote poems for the other woman, including one he read at her going-away party in front of her colleagues, per CBS News. He booked and paid for her massages and spa treatments, skipped House votes to decorate her Christmas tree, and took her on a casino trip where he bought her drinks and paid for her to gamble, per CBS News. For the other staffer, Edwards brought her on political trips and planned personal activities including a helicopter ride, dinner, and a Broadway show, per CBS News. Both women received comments on their appearance, invitations to one-on-one dinners and vacations, and notes 'regarding his effusive affection,' per CBS News. Edwards sent messages in the middle of the night and texted deeply personal and seemingly romantic thoughts, per CBS News. He left an event early after one woman brought a date, later telling her he did not want to be 'in the way or something to that effect,' per CBS News. The report noted Edwards discussed going to strip clubs with the staffers, per Washington Examiner. According to CBS News, Edwards 'knew or had reason to know' as early as May 2025 that his conduct made the women uncomfortable when a senior staffer spoke to him on their behalf. The committee stated, per CBS News: 'Both women were uncomfortable with his behavior (which they attempted to communicate) but were put in an untenable position by virtue of his status as their boss and a Member of Congress.' The committee added, per CBS News: '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.' The committee further stated, per CBS News: 'Despite the absence of an explicit proposition, a reasonable person could interpret Representative Edwards' intimate and effusive attentions, where he prioritized the personal over the professional, as thinly veiled advances.' Edwards ended his bid for re-election two days after the Ethics Committee report was released, per Fox News. On the House floor before the vote, Edwards apologized to the two staffers at the center of the probe, along with his wife and family, per Fox News. But Edwards also disputed the report's findings, accusing the bipartisan panel of cherry-picking context to fit a narrative, per Fox News. Edwards stated, per Fox News: 'Generosity is not sexual harassment. Caring deeply about the people with whom you've worked for years is not sexual harassment, and conduct that is otherwise permissible does not automatically become misconduct, simply because enough individual moments are assembled together and viewed through the darkest possible ends.' Edwards told the House, per CBS News: 'I want to say something directly and publicly to the two women who have been at the center of all of this. I am sorry. I'm sorry that my actions, my judgment or the way that I expressed a friendship ever put either of you in an uncomfortable position. My intentions were only grounded in what I understood our friendship to be, and in genuine admiration and respect that I had for each of you, not only as professionals but as people.' Edwards asserted in a 22-page letter to colleagues that 'An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition. A gift is not sexual misconduct. A compliment is not sexual misconduct. Poetry is not sexual misconduct. Socializing with a colleague is not sexual misconduct. Caring deeply about someone with whom you have worked and come to know for years is not sexual misconduct,' per CBS News. Edwards claimed the behavior was reciprocated and that the committee's findings 'completely exonerate' him under House rules, per CBS News. His campaign denied that any findings violate federal sexual harassment laws, per Washington Examiner. After the vote, Edwards said on social media, per CBS News: 'I respect the House vote. I do not accept the conclusion that it produced.' He told Fox News Digital the House Ethics Committee had abandoned 'its own rules' in its handling of his case. Edwards said, per Washington Examiner: 'I've spent my public life trying to serve the people who entrusted me with this office. I am imperfect. I have made mistakes, but I do not believe I committed sexual harassment and the factual findings of this investigation do not justify branding me as though I did.' The entire House Republican leadership voted for the resolution, per Fox News. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, stated, per Fox News: 'since Edwards continues to show no remorse, it's obvious that Edwards refuses to understand sexual harassment or his abuse of power. If we don't take action today, there is no opportunity for these women to receive justice.' Edwards became the 30th member of the House to be censured, per Fox News. Censure carries a public rebuke but does not force resignation from his seat, per Fox News. The last member censured was Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for disrupting President Trump's joint address to Congress, per Washington Examiner. The last member expelled was former New York Republican Rep. George Santos, per Washington Examiner. Swalwell and Gonzales differed from Edwards in that they faced expulsion rather than censure. The two affected staffers were previously employed by Edwards when he served as a state senator before joining his congressional office, per CBS News.