House censures Rep. Chuck Edwards over "inappropriate conduct" toward aides

Washington — The House censured Rep. Chuck Edwards on Tuesday after a House Ethics Committee investigation found the North Carolina Republican engaged in "persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct" toward two young women who worked for him.

The House approved Edwards' punishment — standing in the chamber as the resolution condemning his conduct was read aloud — in a 413 to 2 vote. Censure requires a simple majority.

The bipartisan Ethics Committee released a report in early August detailing Edwards' conduct toward the two women, who previously worked for him when he was a state senator before joining his congressional office. While the committee found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with the women or explicitly propositioned them, his behavior toward them created "rumors and innuendo" and violated House rules related to sexual harassment and toxic workplaces.

House rules prohibit lawmakers from having a sexual relationship with a subordinate and from engaging in "unwelcome sexual advances or conduct" toward a House employee.

"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 report said. "Representative Edwards was at minimum blind to that reality, and at worst, dismissive of the impact his inappropriate conduct had on the careers and wellbeing of two women on his staff."

In a speech on the House floor ahead of the vote, Edwards admitted to "poor judgment," but said "regret is not an admission of sexual harassment." He also apologized to the two women and his wife.

"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," he said. "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 said on social media after the vote: "I respect the House vote. I do not accept the conclusion that it produced." He insisted his conduct was not sexual harassment.

According to the report, Edwards provided the women with lavish gifts, including jewelry, designer purses, guns, flowers, a KitchenAid mixer and a robotic vacuum, among other things. He also commented on their appearance, invited them to one-on-one dinners and vacations and sent notes "regarding his effusive affection."

The conduct detailed in the report included Edwards arranging for a singer to attend one woman's birthday party and sing Ed Sheeran's "Hills of Aberfeldy" and say that it was "from a special someone." He wrote poems for the woman, including one that he read at her going-away party in front of her colleagues. Edwards also booked and paid for massages and other spa treatments for the woman, skipped House votes to decorate her Christmas tree and took her on a casino trip in which he bought her drinks and paid for her to gamble.

Edwards brought the other woman on political trips, planning personal activities for them, such as a helicopter ride, dinner and a Broadway show. He brought her flowers before picking her up for a holiday event at the White House. The report also said Edwards left early from an event, later telling the woman that he did so because she brought a date. About the episode, the committee said Edwards testified that he told the woman that he did not want to be "in the way or something to that effect."

The committee called Edwards' actions "at minimum inappropriate."

"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 report said.

"In his interview with the Committee, the Congressman repeatedly asserted that he knows well what constitutes 'sexual harassment,' and seemed to believe that by avoiding inappropriate physical touch, explicitly sexual comments, and occasionally telling the staffers that they were free to put up boundaries with him, he had immunized himself from such a charge. That is not the case," it said. "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."

According to the report, 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 the congressman on their behalf.

Though Edwards argued the committee's findings "completely exonerate" him under House rules, the North Carolina Republican ended his reelection bid days later.

In a letter sent to his colleagues last week, Edwards made a last-ditch effort to save himself from censure. He asserted that the evidence does not support the committee's conclusions and that the behavior was reciprocated.

"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," he said in the letter obtained by CBS News.

Edwards said he sent the letter because his colleagues "deserved to hear directly from me and have the opportunity to review the facts for themselves."