House Majority Leader Steve Scalise Says He’ll Vote to Censure Republican Chuck Edwards Over Sexual Harassment Allegations

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said Tuesday he would vote to censure GOP colleague Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), who is facing a sexual harassment probe from the House Ethics Committee.

“I have faith in the [Ethics] chairman and his members that they did proper due diligence,” Scalise told Axios Congressional reporter Kate Santaliz, ahead of the Tuesday vote.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) wasn’t as forthcoming with his decision on Edwards, 65, who has denied allegations of wrongdoing after two female staffers in their 20s accused him of violating their “professional boundaries.”

“I’ll vote my conscience,” Johnson told Santaliz.

The House probe began in April, after news of the accusations broke.

The committee recommended censuring Edwards earlier this month, finding Edwards failed “to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers,” Axios reported.

Edwards allegedly gave female staffers “personalized handguns,” and at one point, made a young woman “uncomfortable” by reciting a poem, during which he was “choked up and became teary-eyed” during her farewell party.

He also allegedly told one young woman who worked on his staff he would be “thrilled” to skip votes in Congress and cancel town halls so he could instead help her decorate her Christmas tree.

The North Carolina Republican — who announced last month he would not seek re-election — said he was also generous with male staffers and gave at least one a gift, just like the female workers.

“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” Edwards said in an X post. “I will complete my current term. Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.”

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