Chuck Edwards went to the House floor Tuesday with one last chance to convince his colleagues that the ethics case against him had gone too far.
"I am imperfect. I have made mistakes, but I do not believe I committed sexual harassment," Edwards said. "And the factual findings of this investigation do not justify branding me as though I did."
His colleagues weren't persuaded. The House voted 413-2 to censure him, with only Edwards and South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman voting no. Afterward, Edwards wrote on social media: "I respect the House vote. I do not accept the conclusion that it produced." He went further, saying he would "not confess to conduct I did not commit simply to make this moment easier," and that he would "leave this chapter with my head held high."
It was his last stand in a defense he'd been building for weeks. In an Aug. 25 letter to fellow House members, he argued the committee had stretched the evidence too far. "An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition," he wrote. "A gift is not sexual misconduct. A compliment is not sexual misconduct."
The case centered on the Republican congressman's conduct toward two young female staffers. The Ethics Committee confirmed in May that it was investigating Edwards, and he pushed back hard, calling the allegations "horseshit" in an interview with The Assembly and predicting the probe would "expose the facts, not politically motivated fiction."
Three months later, the committee's own findings told a different story. Its 25-page report described a pattern of behavior, including expensive gifts, personal messages, comments about the staffers' appearances, private dinners and trips, that crossed the line from mentorship into what the committee called a hostile work environment.
He apologized to the two women before Tuesday's vote, and to his wife, Teresa. But he continued to reject the committee's conclusion that his conduct amounted to sexual harassment. On the floor, he said he'd turned over roughly 186,000 emails, texts and voicemails to investigators, arguing the full record showed a years-long, reciprocal friendship rather than one-sided misconduct.
The committee itself found no evidence Edwards engaged in sexual activity with either woman, explicitly propositioned a staffer or engaged in quid pro quo harassment. But it concluded that his repeated behavior, combined with the power he held over the women as their employer, created a hostile work environment, and it recommended censure, the strongest punishment short of expulsion.
By the time the House voted, Edwards had already stepped back from public life. He ended his reelection campaign within days of the committee's report becoming public, clearing the way for Republicans to pick state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom as his replacement on the November ballot. She'll face Democrat Jamie Ager for the 11th District seat.
Edwards, who has held the seat since 2023, will serve out his term until January. On the floor Tuesday, he predicted what would outlast the case's details: "What will remain is one word attached permanently to my name: censured."
Felicia Sonmez contributed reporting to this story.
