The House Ethics Committee on Monday recommended censuring Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), concluding there is “substantial reason to believe” he repeatedly subjected two female staffers to inappropriate and unprofessional treatment.
The bipartisan committee found Edwards violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces after a months-long investigation, concluding that the two-term North Carolina Republican developed inappropriately close relationships with young female staffers that affected his official duties.
According to the committee’s report, Edwards, who is married, showered the women with expensive gifts, repeatedly commented on their appearance, invited them to intimate dinners and vacations, sent notes expressing his affection, and frequently sought to spend time with them alone.
Investigators said Edwards called the women “pretty” and “breathtaking,” commented on one staffer’s weight, and gave them gifts including jewelry worth more than $1,000, designer handbags, firearms, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cellphone, a KitchenAid mixer, a robotic vacuum, vacations, and tickets to performances.
The report also alleges Edwards skipped House votes on one occasion to visit a female staffer’s home, where he helped with yard work and decorated her Christmas tree. Investigators said he also wrote poems, paid for gambling outings, discussed visiting strip clubs in Washington, D.C., and planned weekend getaways with the women.
The committee said it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with either staffer.
“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 concluded.
“That Representative Edwards did all these things to two young staffers, repeatedly over a sustained period, was beyond inappropriate,” it added.
In a 15-page response, an attorney for Edwards said the committee cleared the congressman of sexual misconduct allegations and accused the panel of reaching its conclusions through a short-circuited process. The attorney also claimed the report, which recommended a formal censure vote, did not prove the two female staffers “expressed discomfort” and said the congressman was never able to challenge the facts of the allegations. A House censure is a symbolic public rebuke that does not remove a member from office or strip him of committee assignments.
The ethics probe arrives at a politically difficult time for Edwards, whose western North Carolina district has emerged as one of Democrats’ top pickup opportunities in the 2026 midterms.
Democratic challenger Jamie Ager outraised Edwards by a wide margin during the latest fundraising quarter, bringing in roughly $1.4 million compared to Edwards’ approximately $155,000, The Daily Wire previously reported. National election forecasters have also shifted the district from “Likely Republican” to a more competitive “Lean Republican” as Democrats increase their investment in the race.
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