The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday evening to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards following allegations of sexual harassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The House vote was 413-2, with 207 Republicans and one independent voting alongside 205 Democrats to censure the North Carolina Republican, a formal punishment recommended by the House Ethics Committee following its investigation into whether Edwards created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment in violation of House Rules, laws or other standards of conduct.<\/p>\n
![\"PHOTO:](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/fca5eaad-7d86-4570-9ccd-cfe04fe2298d\/edwards_1788303076248_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Adam")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., asks questions before the House Appropriations Committee, June 2, 2026, in Washington.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Allison Robbert\/AP Photo<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n During remarks earlier Tuesday as the House debated the censure resolution, Edwards acknowledged he is “imperfect” and apologized to his wife Theresa — but he contended that regret is “not an admission of sexual harassment.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “I did not violate harassment law,” Edwards said, adding that the Ethics committee chose to ignore “evidence of a reciprocal friendship.”\u00a0<\/p>\n In a report<\/a> last month, the House Ethics Committee said it found Edwards “engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers,” including “providing the young women with lavish and recurrent gifts, making comments regarding their appearance and dress, inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations, sending notes regarding his effusive affection, and inviting them to other activities as a way to spend time together.”<\/p>\n Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) talks to reporters as he arrives for a House Republican conference in the basement of the U.S. Capitol on September 01, 2026 in Washington, DC. The House will vote on censuring Edwards, who the House Ethics Committee said engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the report, the committee said it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with or explicitly propositioned anyone under his employ.<\/p>\n Edwards is the 29th member of the lower chamber to be censured in the history of the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n Just two Republicans voted against adopting the censure resolution: Edwards and Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina.<\/p>\n Following the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson asked Edwards to present himself in the well of the chamber as the censure resolution was read aloud.<\/p>\n Edwards stood silently — remaining in the well until Johnson left the rostrum, approached Edwards from behind and patted him on the back — leading him up the aisle to the back of the chamber.<\/p>\n During debate on the resolution, Rep. Michael Guest, the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, argued that while the allegations in the matter did not implicate a quid pro quo for sexual favors, Edwards did show a “lack of judgment.”<\/p>\n![\"PHOTO:](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0ca87f5b-c940-4753-8b7d-c7e8f5af5ecb\/2293017610_1788311726997_hpMain.jpg?w=375)
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