The House overwhelmingly censured North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) after an ethics investigation found that the Republican lawmaker engaged in persistent inappropriate and unprofessional conduct toward two young female staffers.
Lawmakers approved the censure resolution in a 413-2 vote Tuesday, delivering one of the chamber’s strongest formal punishments short of expulsion.
The House’s official historical record confirms the vote and states that Edwards was censured for failing to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment and unwanted advances toward House employees.
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee recommended the punishment after concluding there was substantial reason to believe Edwards violated House rules related to sexual harassment and maintaining a hostile workplace.
Edwards, 65, had already announced in August that he would not seek reelection following publication of the committee’s findings.
During remarks on the House floor before the censure, Edwards apologized to his wife, Teresa, and his family for the consequences of his actions.
“I want to apologize to my wife, Teresa, and to my family,” Edwards said, adding that they had been forced to carry a “burden they did not create.”
He also apologized to the two former staffers for what he described as misunderstanding the nature of their relationships and for the public attention the controversy brought upon them.
Edwards nevertheless rejected the characterization that his behavior amounted to sexual harassment.
“Generosity is not sexual harassment. Caring deeply about the people with whom you’ve worked for years is not sexual harassment,” he told lawmakers while defending gifts, compliments and poetry he had given the women.
The Ethics Committee’s investigation painted a substantially different picture.
Investigators found that Edwards repeatedly singled out the two women for unusually personal attention, including comments about their appearance, handwritten notes, expensive gifts, one-on-one dinners and invitations to vacations.
The committee described his conduct as “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers,” according to the source.
Among the gifts listed in the report were more than $1,000 in jewelry, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cellphone, a KitchenAid mixer and a robotic vacuum.
The women also received tickets to performances, vacations and invitations to private dinners with Edwards, the committee found.
One episode highlighted by investigators occurred in June 2024 after Edwards noticed that one aide appeared upset.
He arranged for roughly 30 containers of ice cream to be delivered to her home.
“Thank you, but this seems a bit excessive,” the staffer responded after sending Edwards a photograph showing the cartons filling her kitchen counter, according to the report.
Investigators also reviewed affectionate written messages Edwards sent to the women.
Axios reported that Edwards wrote one departing staffer a poem and became emotional while reading it aloud during an office farewell gathering. Multiple staff members later told investigators that the episode made them uncomfortable.
In another three-page handwritten letter, Edwards reportedly told the same aide that she had “written a complex chapter in my heart.”
The investigation found that Edwards frequently commented on the staffers’ clothing, weight and appearance, at times describing them as “pretty” or “breathtaking.”
Edwards maintained that his relationships with the employees were platonic and argued that some evidence showed the relationships resembled mentor-mentee or father-daughter dynamics, per the Daily Mail.
The Ethics Committee said it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with either woman or explicitly propositioned them, but concluded that the staffers were made uncomfortable by his behavior.
The committee ultimately found that his behavior violated standards governing congressional conduct and recommended censure after completing its bipartisan investigation.
Members from both parties supported the punishment.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said ahead of the vote that he trusted the Ethics Committee’s chairman and members to have conducted proper due diligence.
Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) was more severe, arguing Edwards should resign rather than simply accept a censure.
The caucus said the investigation documented a pattern of misconduct toward women on Edwards’ staff and argued that Congress needed stronger safeguards against workplace harassment.
Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC), who serves on the Ethics Committee, similarly said the bipartisan investigation showed “a troubling pattern of harassment, abuse of power, and an unwillingness to take responsibility.”
Censure does not remove Edwards from Congress or strip him of his ability to vote. It serves as a formal public condemnation by the House and traditionally requires the member to stand before the chamber as the resolution is read.
Edwards became the 29th House member in US history to receive the punishment, according to the Associated Press.
His decision not to seek another term means the controversy will also mark the final months of his congressional career.
