North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards is formally censured over harassment allegations

Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., speaks during a House hearing on June 2, 2026. Edwards was investigated by the House Ethics Committee over allegations he sexually harassed members of his staff. Allison Robbert/AP hide caption

The Republican-led House has voted to censure outgoing Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after a months-long investigation by the ethics committee into allegations he sexually harassed two young female staff members.

The vote on Tuesday was 413 to 2. A censure, which is tantamount to public shaming on the House floor, is the strongest punishment the House can adopt against a member short of expulsion.

Edwards has denied the allegations, but ended his reelection bid after the House Ethics Committee posted their investigative findings last month.

Speaking from the House floor ahead of the censure vote, Edwards pleaded with his colleagues to "judge me on the facts, not on the inference, insinuation or headlines."

He apologized to the two staffers at the center of the investigation, saying, "I recognize now that my understanding of those relationships may not have always matched yours." He insisted, however, that "regret is not an admission of sexual harassment."

The House Ethics panel recommended the censure as part of an Aug. 3 report on their investigation — a report that determined he "engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers."

The committee found he created a hostile work environment, citing "substantial evidence" he "violated the spirit of the House's prohibition on sexual harassment and unwanted advances."