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Rep. Chuck Edwards has ended his reelection campaign after the House Ethics Committee recommended him for censure.
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But because he plans to fulfill his term that expires in January, he’s not escaping the potential that the House censures him.
A censure is the highest form of discipline a member can receive short of expulsion.
On Monday, the committee released a 25-page report citing substantial evidence that Edwards sexually harassed two young women on his staff, created a hostile work environment and led both women to resign from their work in Congress.
The committee’s vote count hasn’t been released. There are five Democrats and five Republicans on the bipartisan board, meaning at least one Republican would have had to vote against Edwards. Reps. Brad Knott and Deborah Ross, a Republican and Democrat, respectively, of Raleigh serve on the board.
Edwards denies any wrongdoing, and his campaign team said he was exonerated because he did not sleep with the two women.
It’s rare for a member of Congress to be censured. It’s happened only 28 times.
If the House chooses to censure Edwards, there are many questions about what that means, how it works and whether it’s a slap on the wrist.
Here’s a list of answers to questions you may have, straight from the rulebook governing House decorum.
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When a House member is censured, the lawmaker must present themselves to the well of the House — the center front of the chamber — and stand there as their colleagues read off the allegations against him or her.
Other forms of punishment can occur as a result, including stripping committee assignments.
He could be arrested and brought to the well, according to House rules.
A quorum of the entire House must vote to approve a censure.
According to House rules, it would read, “Resolved, That the Member from … in … has been guilty of a violation of the rules and privileges of the House and merits the censure of the House for the same. Resolved, That said …. be now brought to the bar of the House by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the censure of the House be administered there by the Speaker.”
It can also call for “direct and immediate action.”
Any time after the House Committee on Ethics submits its report. In Edwards’ case, the House is on its annual August recess and doesn’t return to Washington until Sept. 1.
No. House rules specify that a member can be censured for any actions that put Congress “in disrepute.”
A guide to House rules say early censures addressed “the use of unparliamentary language,” assaulting other lawmakers, or “insults to the House by introduction of offensive resolutions.” House members who were sympathetic to the Confederacy during the Civil War have also been censured.
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This story was originally published August 5, 2026 at 8:13 AM.