The House voted 413-2 to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after the House Ethics Committee found he engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers. Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Guest said the case did not involve quid pro quo sexual harassment but did involve behavior that created a hostile work environment, including lavish gifts, comments about the aides' appearance and dress, notes expressing affection, and invitations to intimate dinners and vacations. The committee found Edwards was aware the women were uncomfortable; both women are no longer on his staff. Edwards apologized to the two women and to his family while insisting the report found no evidence he engaged in sexual activity or explicitly propositioned staffers and rejecting the recommendation to censure. Edwards and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., were the only two votes against the measure; Edwards stood in the well as the censure resolution was read and later compared the investigation to a "very much akin to a Russian show trial." Speaker Mike Johnson sat with Edwards briefly before the vote. Censure registers the House's deep disapproval but falls short of expulsion, and the case comes amid a broader bipartisan review this year aimed at making Capitol Hill a safer workplace for women.
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