A North Carolina Republican congressman has been recommended for punishment after the House Ethics Committee found he broke rules sexual harassment rules while dealing with two young female staffers, according to the Daily Mail. Congressman Chuck Edwards, 65, gave the women expensive gifts, commented on their looks, and took them on paid trips, according to a 25-page report from the committee, as cited by the outlet.
The committee said Edwards failed to follow the spirit of rules that ban sexual harassment and unwanted advances toward House staffers. It has recommended that Edwards be censured, a formal punishment where a lawmaker stands before the House floor and is reprimanded by fellow members.
The report states that both women worked for Edwards for several years and have since left his office. The report does not name them, referring to them only as Staffer 1 and Staffer 2.
Gifts included jewelry, guns, and paid vacations
According to the report, both staffers received a wide range of gifts from Edwards. These reportedly included jewelry worth more than $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, a KitchenAid mixer, a robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.
The report also states that Edwards would often comment on the women’s appearances. When investigators questioned him about this, he reportedly did not deny it and told investigators that on Capitol Hill, “it’s almost an issue if you don’t make some comment about [one another’s clothing].”
Investigators said Edwards commented on the weights of his young female staffers and called them “pretty” or “breathtaking” in the office. This case first drew attention months earlier, when Republican women in Congress pushed for a formal review of Edwards’ conduct. Edwards has said the relationships were “platonic.” The report notes that many people around him felt the relationships were “far from professional,” though investigators apparently found no evidence that he engaged in sexual activity with the staffers or directly propositioned them.
Staffer 1 was reportedly 19 years old when she started as an intern for Edwards, and he later gave her a job as his scheduler while she was still in school. Staffer 2 worked with Edwards when he served as a North Carolina state senator, then joined his congressional staff after he won his seat in 2022, the report states.
One gift stood out: Edwards reportedly once sent about 30 tubs of ice cream, in different sizes and flavors, to Staffer 1’s home to cheer her up. She messaged him back, saying the delivery “seems a bit excessive,” per the report. Edwards allegedly replied, “You looked like you needed a lot of cheering up! My heart was breaking seeing you like that.”
Edwards also reportedly paid for a trip to New York City for Staffer 2 after she went through a breakup, covering the cost for one of her friends to join as well, along with tickets to see the Broadway show “Hamilton.” He reportedly did yard work and chores for her, paid for massages and spa treatments, wrote her poems, and cried at her going-away party. Edwards himself reportedly acknowledged during his testimony that this behavior made the rest of the staff uncomfortable.
In another instance involving the same staffer, Edwards reportedly arranged for a singer to perform Ed Sheeran’s song Hills of Aberfeldy at her birthday party. The singer was reportedly instructed to say the performance came “from a special someone.”
A senior aide reportedly told Edwards in May 2025 that the two women felt uncomfortable with his behavior. The senior aide testified that Edwards “got very angry” when this was raised and said she “didn’t understand the unique relationship” he had with the two staffers, according to the report. The case is part of a wider push in Congress, where some lawmakers have been pressing for faster action on misconduct cases involving members of both parties.
House Republican leadership will now decide whether to move forward with the Ethics Committee’s recommendation to censure Edwards. Even if Speaker Mike Johnson and other leaders choose to proceed, a censure vote apparently cannot happen until the House returns from its summer recess in September.
Published: Aug 4, 2026 07:41 pm