GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards rebuked by House over allegations of unwanted advances toward female staffers

By Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Ellis Kim, CNN

(CNN) — The House on Tuesday took the rare step of punishing one of its members — GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards — over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward two female staffers that prompted them to quit his office.

Edwards had already been forced to abandon his reelection bid under intense pressure from GOP leaders. Now, he has been handed the most severe punishment, outside of expulsion, that a lawmaker can face in Congress, though it does not remove a member from the House and carries no explicit penalties beyond a public admonition.

The congressman’s alleged conduct toward the two women was detailed in a report that resulted from a monthslong investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which found “substantial evidence” to suggest the North Carolina Republican violated the chamber’s “prohibition on sexual harassment.”

That bipartisan ethics panel formally recommended that Edwards be punished with a House censure — its first such recommendation since 2010.

The 413 to 2 vote was a rare display of bipartisanship in an ethics process that has become increasingly partisan in the Trump era. In the end, an overwhelming majority of members of both parties — including House Speaker Mike Johnson — voted to censure Edwards.

The 25-page ethics committee report states that Edwards repeatedly acted inappropriately by sending personal texts, including late at night, that included “deeply personal and seemingly romantic thoughts;” paying for personal vacations; and spending thousands of dollars on gifts, including lavish jewelry, a new cell phone and tickets to “Hamilton.”

The women, who were not named, “attempted to communicate” that they were uncomfortable with his behavior, according to the report, but were “put in an untenable position by virtue of his status as their boss and a Member of Congress.”

In floor remarks ahead of the vote, the congressman apologized for putting the staffers in uncomfortable positions but fiercely denied ever sexually harassing them.

“Regret is not an admission of sexual harassment,” he said.

He said later, “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.”

During the censure vote Edwards sat in the first row, looking down or forward as his colleagues rushed past him or milled about. At one point during the vote, the House chaplain came to sit with him.

Behind the scenes, Edwards had been trying to convince his colleagues not to punish him on the floor, arguing that he did not break any formal House rules.

“An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition,” he wrote in a letter to fellow members, which a source provided to CNN. “A gift is not sexual misconduct. A compliment is not sexual misconduct. Poetry is not sexual misconduct.”

He also argued there is no House rule “prohibiting a member from genuinely and deeply caring about people with whom he has worked closely for years.”

Edwards said after the vote that he wasn’t surprised by the outcome. “It would not have been politically expedient for anyone to vote against a resolution accusing someone of sexual harassment,” he said.

“I lived a terrific life before I entered politics,” he said. “I played a lot of golf. I traveled a lot. I look forward to getting my life back.”

A censure by the full House is typically rare, reserved for major ethical breaches or unlawful behavior. But those types of rebukes have become more common in the hyper-polarized climate of the Trump era, with six members — including Edwards — facing censures since 2021.

Three other lawmakers were on track to face their own censure or expulsion votes on the floor this year, but resigned before lawmakers could vote to punish them.

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned after an allegation of rape, which he denied; GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned after acknowledging having an affair with a female staffer who later died by suicide; and Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned after a House ethics report found her guilty of a slew of campaign finance violations. Cherfilus-McCormick denounced what she described as a witch hunt against her.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.