North Carolina Republican Representative Chuck Edwards was censured by his colleagues Tuesday evening, a move that followed his dropping his reelection bid last month. The vote by the House was 413-2, with the Ethics Committee having recommended the censure for "persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers."
Edwards apologized to his wife, Teresa, and family for the burden his actions have caused. He also apologized to the two former staffers for "misunderstanding" the nature of their "friendship" and for subjecting them to public scrutiny.
During a speech on the House floor, Edwards defended gifts, compliments, and poetry he gave to the aides, stating, "Generosity is not sexual harassment. Caring deeply about the people with whom you've worked for years is not sexual harassment." He testified that he deleted messages "at a whim," a pattern of missing communications flagged by the committee.
Investigators found Edwards showered the female staffers with "lavish and recurrent gifts" and invited them to "intimate dinners and vacations." The report detailed numerous gifts, including jewelry, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cell phone, a KitchenAid mixer, a robotic vacuum, vacations, performance tickets, and one-on-one dinners, totaling over $1,000 in jewelry alone.
Edwards persistently commented on the women's appearance and dress, telling them that "it's almost an issue if you don't make some comment about [one another's clothing]" on Capitol Hill. The report stated he commented on their weight and called them "pretty" or "breathtaking" around the office.
On one occasion in June 2024, Edwards had roughly 30 tubs of ice cream delivered to a staffer's home after noticing she seemed upset. The staffer responded with a photo of the cartons and a text saying, "Thank you, but this seems a bit excessive."
The committee found no evidence of sexual activity or explicit propositions but concluded that the women were "made uncomfortable with his behavior." Teresa Leger Fernandez, chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, called Edwards' conduct "disgusting and horrible" and urged every member of Congress to vote to censure him.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise stated, "I have faith in the [Ethics] chairman and his members that they did proper due diligence."
