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House Ethics investigates sexual harassment claims against Chuck Edwards

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by Sarah Davis - 05/14/26 6:39 PM ET

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by Sarah Davis - 05/14/26 6:39 PM ET

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The House Committee on Ethics announced on Thursday that it is investigating claims of sexual harassment made against Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.).

The committee said in a statement that it is “reviewing allegations” that Edwards “may have created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment,” in violation of the House’s code of conduct.

The announcement noted that this notification about the investigation “does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.”

Edwards responded to the news in a statement provided by his office to The Hill on Thursday afternoon.

“As I have stated, I welcome any investigation and plan to comply fully with the Committee,” the lawmaker said. “I am confident the investigation will expose the facts, not politically motivated fiction.”

Axios was the first to report earlier this month that Edwards was under investigation for possible ethics violations related to the married lawmaker’s alleged conduct toward two former staffers.

Sources told Axios that Edwards’s behavior towards these aides crossed professional boundaries and made them uncomfortable. The outlet reported that the lawmaker sent a handwritten letter to one of the staffers, telling her that she had “written a complex chapter in my heart.”

This new investigation is the latest in the House Ethics Committee’s recent probes into allegations of sexual misconduct among lawmakers.

In April, then-Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) resigned from the lower chamber after they both faced allegations of sexual misconduct. They both denied these allegations. Swalwell also dropped his bid in California’s gubernatorial race, where he was widely considered the frontrunner candidate.

Another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Cory Mills (Fla.), is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he violated campaign finance rules, used his office to enrich himself and assaulted a former girlfriend. Mills has denied all of these claims, and he is not facing any criminal charges.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) teamed up on Thursday to support a bipartisan effort to address this surge of sexual assault allegations against members.

“To state the obvious, all women should feel comfortable and safe working in the halls of Congress,” Johnson said in a statement. “As a father who has two daughters working on Capitol Hill — this is as personal to me as it is to anyone.”

Jeffries added that the effort has “the complete and unequivocal support of the House Democratic Caucus.”

The chairs of the Republican and Democratic Women’s Caucuses, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), will lead a review of the House’s reporting mechanisms and “workplace culture on Capitol Hill.”

“No woman — regardless of party, title, or position — should ever feel unsafe in her workplace. Period,” Cammack said in a statement.

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