North Carolina Republican Chuck Edwards was formally censured by House colleagues on Tuesday night, weeks after he announced he would not seek reelection.
The House Ethics Committee had urged lawmakers to censure Edwards over what it described as “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.” The vote was lopsided, with the House backing the censure resolution 413-2.
Speaking from the floor of the US House on Tuesday, Edwards apologized to his wife for his conduct involving former female staff members.
“I want to apologize to my wife, Teresa, and to my family,” Edwards said, acknowledging that his actions had forced them to shoulder a “burden they did not create.”
He then sought to defend the gifts, compliments and poetry he had directed toward the aides.
“Generosity is not sexual harassment. Caring deeply about the people with whom you’ve worked for years is not sexual harassment,” Edwards said, attempting to explain the gifts, praise and even poems he gave to the former female staffers during his time in office. He also apologized to the two women for “misunderstanding” the nature of their “friendship” and for exposing them to public attention because of his behavior.
But his remarks did little to soften the reaction from fellow lawmakers. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico, who chairs the Democratic Women’s Caucus, called Edwards’ conduct “disgusting and horrible” and urged “every member of Congress to vote to censure him.”
Republican leaders offered limited defense of Edwards. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told Axios: “I have faith in the [Ethics] chairman and his members that they did proper due diligence.”
Chuck Edwards was met by reporters as he walks to a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, September 1, 2026
On one occasion, Edwards reportedly had roughly 30 different tubs of ice cream delivered to a female staffer’s home after he noticed she appeared upset
The committee also determined that Edwards would shower the female staffers with ‘lavish and recurrent gifts’ and invite them to ‘intimate dinners and vacations.’
Investigators found Edwards sent the women notes professing his ‘effusive affection’ and made comments about their ‘appearance and dress.’ He showered them with ‘lavish and recurrent gifts’ and invited them to ‘intimate dinners and vacations.’
In June 2024, after noticing one aide seemed upset, Edwards texted to say he was having something dropped off that he’d heard might cheer her up. It was roughly 30 tubs of ice cream. She sent back a photo of the cartons crowding her kitchen counter: ‘Thank you, but this seems a bit excessive.’
Both the photo and her reply appear to have been deleted from Edwards’ phone, one of a pattern of missing messages the committee flagged. He testified that he deleted messages ‘at a whim.’
The gifts went far beyond ice cream. ‘Both women received numerous gifts from Representative Edwards, including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners,’ the report said.
Edwards persistently remarked on the women’s appearance, a claim he did not deny when pressed by investigators. He told them that on Capitol Hill ‘it’s almost an issue if you don’t make some comment about [one another’s clothing].’
He commented on his young staffers’ weight, the report found, and called them ‘pretty’ or ‘breathtaking’ around the office.
Edwards insisted the relationships were ‘platonic,’ though others saw them as far from professional.
The committee found no evidence he engaged in sexual activity or ‘explicitly propositioned’ the women, but concluded they were ‘made uncomfortable with his behavior.’
