The US House of Representatives voted to censure Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina after a bipartisan Ethics Committee investigation found he had engaged in "persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct" towards two young female staffers. The vote saw several Republicans join Democrats in rebuking their colleague, reflecting growing pressure on Congress to address repeated allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct among lawmakers from both parties.

The Ethics Committee report, chaired by fellow Republican Michael Guest, detailed lavish gifts, trips, late-night personal texts, a poem read to one staffer, chores performed at a staffer's home, and a casino visit, concluding that Edwards created a hostile work environment even without evidence of sexual activity or explicit propositioning. Edwards apologised to the staffers and his family but disputed the findings on the House floor, insisting "generosity is not sexual harassment," and had already ended his re-election bid two days after the report's release. He became the 30th House member ever censured, a penalty that carries public rebuke but not removal from office, amid a wider reckoning that saw former Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales both resign earlier this year over separate misconduct allegations.