2026-09-01T22:11:37.428Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/01/politics/chuck-edwards-censure-ethics-report
众议院周二罕见地对其议员、共和党众议员查克·爱德华兹采取惩戒措施，此前有指控称他对两名女性员工实施不当行为，导致两人辞去他的办公室职务。
爱德华兹此前已在共和党领导层的巨大压力下被迫放弃连任竞选。如今，他受到了国会议员所能面临的除驱逐以外最严厉的惩戒，尽管这一惩戒不会将其逐出众议院，且除公开谴责外没有明确的其他处罚措施。
众议院道德委员会经过数月调查后发布的报告详细披露了爱德华兹对两名女性的涉嫌不当行为，该委员会认定有“确凿证据”表明这位北卡罗来纳州共和党议员违反了众议院“禁止性骚扰”的规定。
这个两党道德委员会正式建议对爱德华兹实施众议院谴责——这是自2010年以来该委员会首次提出此类建议。
最终投票结果为413票赞成、2票反对，这在特朗普时代日益党派化的道德审查程序中，是一次罕见的两党协作表现。包括众议院议长迈克·约翰逊在内的两党绝大多数议员都投票赞成谴责爱德华兹。
这份长达25页的道德委员会报告显示，爱德华兹多次做出不当行为，包括深夜发送包含“极其私人且看似带有浪漫意味想法”的个人短信、为私人度假买单，以及花费数千美元购买礼物，其中包括奢华珠宝、新手机和《汉密尔顿》音乐剧门票。
报告中未具名的两名女性“曾试图表达”她们对他的行为感到不适，但“由于他作为上司和国会议员的身份，她们陷入了无法维持的困境”。
在投票前的议会发言中，这位议员为让员工陷入不适境地道歉，但强烈否认曾对她们实施性骚扰。
“道歉不等于承认性骚扰，”他说道。
他随后表示：“我并非完人，我犯过错误，但我不认为自己犯下了性骚扰罪。此次调查的事实认定结果并不足以将我定性为性骚扰者。”
在谴责投票期间，爱德华兹坐在第一排，时而低头时而直视前方，同事们要么匆匆走过他身旁，要么在周围走动。投票过程中，众议院牧师曾来到他身边就座。
在幕后，爱德华兹曾试图说服同僚不要在议会中对他进行惩戒，辩称他并未违反众议院任何正式规则。
“亲密的友谊并非性暗示，”他在给同僚的一封信中写道，该信件由一位消息人士提供给CNN。“礼物并非性行为不端。赞美并非性行为不端。诗歌并非性行为不端。”
他还辩称，众议院并无规则“禁止议员对与其密切共事多年的人产生真诚而深厚的关怀”。
投票结束后，爱德华兹表示对结果并不意外。“任何投票反对指控某人性骚扰的决议，在政治上都不会是权宜之计，”他说。
“我从政之前过着精彩的生活，”他说。“我打了很多高尔夫球，也经常旅行。我期待重拾我的生活。”
众议院全体议员的谴责通常较为罕见，仅适用于重大道德违规或违法行为。但在特朗普时代高度极化的政治氛围中，此类谴责已变得更为常见，自2021年以来已有包括爱德华兹在内的六名议员面临谴责。
另有三名议员原本将于今年在议会面临谴责或驱逐投票，但他们在议员们投票惩戒前辞职。
民主党众议员埃里克·斯沃维尔因一项强奸指控辞职，他对此予以否认；共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯在承认与一名女性员工有染后辞职，该员工后来自杀；民主党众议员希拉·谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克则在众议院道德报告认定其存在一系列竞选财务违规行为后辞职。谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克谴责针对她的所谓政治迫害。
本文已更新补充更多信息。
CNN的摩根·里默为本报道撰稿。
GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards rebuked by House over allegations of unwanted advances toward female staffers
2026-09-01T22:11:37.428Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/01/politics/chuck-edwards-censure-ethics-report
The House on Tuesday took the rare step of punishing one of its members — GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards — over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward two female staffers that prompted them to quit his office.
Edwards had already been forced to abandon his reelection bid under intense pressure from GOP leaders. Now, he has been handed the most severe punishment, outside of expulsion, that a lawmaker can face in Congress, though it does not remove a member from the House and carries no explicit penalties beyond a public admonition.
The congressman’s alleged conduct toward the two women was detailed in a report that resulted from a monthslong investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which found “substantial evidence” to suggest the North Carolina Republican violated the chamber’s “prohibition on sexual harassment.”
That bipartisan ethics panel formally recommended that Edwards be punished with a House censure — its first such recommendation since 2010.
The 413 to 2 vote was a rare display of bipartisanship in an ethics process that has become increasingly partisan in the Trump era. In the end, an overwhelming majority of members of both parties — including House Speaker Mike Johnson — voted to censure Edwards.
The 25-page ethics committee report states that Edwards repeatedly acted inappropriately by sending personal texts, including late at night, that included “deeply personal and seemingly romantic thoughts;” paying for personal vacations; and spending thousands of dollars on gifts, including lavish jewelry, a new cell phone and tickets to “Hamilton.”
The women, who were not named, “attempted to communicate” that they were uncomfortable with his behavior, according to the report, but were “put in an untenable position by virtue of his status as their boss and a Member of Congress.”
In floor remarks ahead of the vote, the congressman apologized for putting the staffers in uncomfortable positions but fiercely denied ever sexually harassing them.
“Regret is not an admission of sexual harassment,” he said.
He said later, “I am imperfect. I have made mistakes, but I do not believe I committed sexual harassment. And the factual findings of this investigation do not justify branding me as though I did.”
During the censure vote Edwards sat in the first row, looking down or forward as his colleagues rushed past him or milled about. At one point during the vote, the House chaplain came to sit with him.
Behind the scenes, Edwards had been trying to convince his colleagues not to punish him on the floor, arguing that he did not break any formal House rules.
“An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition,” he wrote in a letter to fellow members, which a source provided to CNN. “A gift is not sexual misconduct. A compliment is not sexual misconduct. Poetry is not sexual misconduct.”
He also argued there is no House rule “prohibiting a member from genuinely and deeply caring about people with whom he has worked closely for years.”
Edwards said after the vote that he wasn’t surprised by the outcome. “It would not have been politically expedient for anyone to vote against a resolution accusing someone of sexual harassment,” he said.
“I lived a terrific life before I entered politics,” he said. “I played a lot of golf. I traveled a lot. I look forward to getting my life back.”
A censure by the full House is typically rare, reserved for major ethical breaches or unlawful behavior. But those types of rebukes have become more common in the hyper-polarized climate of the Trump era, with six members — including Edwards — facing censures since 2021.
Three other lawmakers were on track to face their own censure or expulsion votes on the floor this year, but resigned before lawmakers could vote to punish them.
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned after an allegation of rape, which he denied; GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned after acknowledging having an affair with a female staffer who later died by suicide; and Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned after a House ethics report found her guilty of a slew of campaign finance violations. Cherfilus-McCormick denounced what she described as a witch hunt against her.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
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