The House voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after a House Ethics Committee investigation found he engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two young female staffers. The vote was 413 to 2, with only Edwards and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., voting against the resolution.
The censure follows an Ethics Committee report released last month that recommended Edwards be formally rebuked. The bipartisan committee, chaired by Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., said its investigation did not find evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity or explicitly propositioned the staffers, but concluded his behavior violated rules against sexual harassment and created a hostile work environment.
“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,” Guest said on the House floor.
The report detailed lavish gifts, trips, and the reading of a poem to one of the staffers, a visit to a staffer’s home to perform chores, late-night personal texts, and a trip to a casino, among other conduct. Edwards ended his re-election bid two days after the report’s release.
Ahead of the vote, Edwards told Fox News Digital, “They’ll make their argument, and I’ll make mine,” arguing that the Ethics Committee had abandoned “its own rules” in handling his case.
On the House floor, Edwards apologized to the two staffers, his wife and his family, but disputed the committee’s findings, accusing the panel of cherry-picking context to fit a narrative.
“Generosity is not sexual harassment. Caring deeply about the people with whom you’ve worked for years is not sexual harassment,” Edwards said. “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.”
He said his expressed regret was “not an admission of sexual harassment.”
Despite his objections, nearly the entire House Republican conference voted for the censure, including all of House GOP leadership.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said Edwards’ response showed he did not grasp the seriousness of the conduct.
“Since Edwards continues to show no remorse, it’s obvious that Edwards refuses to understand sexual harassment or his abuse of power,” Leger Fernández said. “If we don’t take action today, there is no opportunity for these women to receive justice.”
Edwards is now the 30th member of the House to be censured, a penalty that amounts to a formal public rebuke but does not remove him from office.
The vote comes amid a broader reckoning in Congress over lawmakers’ conduct toward staff. Earlier this year, former Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales both resigned on the same day. Swalwell stepped down after allegations of rape and sexual assault, while Gonzales left after being accused of sexual misconduct with a former staffer and admitting to an affair with former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who later died by setting herself on fire. Both had faced the possibility of expulsion.
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