House Votes 413-2 to Censure GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards Over Conduct Toward Two Female Staffers

The House voted 413-2 on Tuesday, September 1, to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from North Carolina's 11th District, over findings that he engaged in a sustained pattern of inappropriate behavior toward two young female staffers. Edwards himself and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., cast the only votes against the resolution, according to theassemblync.

The censure followed an August 3 report from the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, which found Edwards had failed to "adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers," according to NPR. The committee, chaired by Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., said it found no evidence Edwards engaged in sexual activity with the staffers or explicitly propositioned either of them.

What the report found

The list of conduct cited by investigators is extensive. According to NPR and theassemblync, Edwards gave the two women gifts including jewelry totaling more than $1,000, designer purses, personalized handguns with engravings, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cell phone, a KitchenAid mixer, a robotic vacuum, vacations, performance tickets and one-on-one dinners. The 19th News reported he also wrote and tearfully recited a poem for one of the staffers and sent handwritten notes describing his affection.

"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 wrote, according to NPR.

Guest told colleagues the case did not involve "quid pro quo sexual harassment" but rather conduct that created a hostile environment, according to Breitbart's report of the floor proceedings. "While Representative Edwards denies that his conduct was intended to be sexual or romantic, his pattern of behavior would lead a reasonable person to interpret it as such," Guest said. The committee also found Edwards knew his attention toward the women had generated "rumors and innuendo" in the office, according to the Epoch Times.

Both staffers have since left Edwards' office. The committee's report said they tried to communicate their discomfort to Edwards but were "put in an untenable position by virtue of his status as their boss and a member of Congress."

Edwards' defense

Edwards has not conceded that he committed sexual harassment. In an August 25 letter to colleagues asking them not to censure him, first reported by NOTUS and cited by the Epoch Times, Edwards argued for a distinction between unconventional behavior and misconduct: "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."

On the House floor Tuesday, Edwards apologized to the two women and to his wife, Teresa Edwards, but pushed back hard on the committee's conclusion. "I am imperfect. I have made mistakes," he said, according to theassemblync. "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." He repeatedly stressed that investigators found no sexual activity and no explicit proposition, and told colleagues, according to NPR, to "judge me on the facts, not on the inference, insinuation or headlines."

Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California, the Ethics Committee's ranking member, rejected that framing. "Representative Edwards' interpretation of his own conduct does not change how the women experienced it," DeSaulnier said, according to theassemblync. "Rep. Edwards may not have made physical advances or explicit propositions, but sexual harassment does not require either."

Some Democrats argued censure wasn't enough. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico said, according to theassemblync, "These women lost their jobs because of Mr. Edwards' behavior. He should lose his," and called for rule changes to strip committee assignments or expel members in similar cases going forward. No such additional penalty has been adopted.

What happens next

Edwards announced last month that he was ending his reelection campaign, telling supporters on X, "After much prayer and reflection, I've decided to withdraw from my reelection campaign. I will complete my current term." He had been set to face Democratic candidate Jamie Ager, a farmer and entrepreneur, in a district the Cook Political Report rates as lean Republican. The Epoch Times reported North Carolina Republicans have already selected a state lawmaker to replace Edwards on the November ballot.

The censure makes Edwards the 29th lawmaker censured in House history, according to theassemblync and NPR, following Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas in 2025. Edwards keeps his committee assignments and remains in Congress through the end of his term. A separate vote would be required to impose any further punishment, and none has been scheduled.