周二晚上，众议院以压倒性多数投票谴责众议员查克·爱德华兹（Chuck Edwards）性骚扰指控。
众议院的投票结果是413比2，207名共和党人和一名独立投票人与205名民主党人一起谴责这位北卡罗来纳州共和党人，这是众议院道德委员会在调查爱德华兹是否创造或营造了一个敌对的工作环境并违反众议院规则、法律或其他行为标准进行性骚扰后建议的正式惩罚。
在周二早些时候众议院辩论谴责决议的讲话中，爱德华兹承认他“不完美”，并向妻子特里萨道歉-但他辩称，后悔“不是承认性骚扰”。
“我没有违反骚扰法，”爱德华兹说，并补充说，道德委员会选择忽略“互惠友谊的证据。”
在上月的一份报告中，众议院道德委员会表示，它发现爱德华兹“对两名年轻的女性工作人员做出了持续的不专业和不恰当的行为”，包括“向年轻女性提供奢侈和经常性的礼物，对她们的外表和着装发表评论，邀请她们参加私人晚宴和度假，发送关于他的热情洋溢的情感的纸条，并邀请她们参加其他活动，以此作为共度时光的方式。”
在报告中，该委员会表示，没有证据表明爱德华兹与他手下的任何人进行性活动或明确提出性要求。
爱德华兹是美国国会历史上第29位受到谴责的下议院议员。
只有两名共和党人投票反对通过谴责决议：爱德华兹和南卡罗来纳州众议员拉尔夫·诺曼。
投票结束后，当谴责决议被大声宣读时，议长迈克·约翰逊要求爱德华兹站到会议厅一侧。
爱德华兹静静地站在井里，直到约翰逊离开讲台，从后面走近爱德华兹，拍了拍他的背，领着他穿过通道来到会议厅的后面。
在就该决议进行辩论期间，众议院道德委员会主席、众议员迈克尔·盖斯特（Michael Guest）辩称，尽管此事的指控没有涉及性好处的交换条件，但爱德华兹确实表现出“缺乏判断力”。
上个月，爱德华兹放弃了他在北卡罗来纳州西部地区的连任竞选，对阵民主党提名人杰米·阿格，这是2026年北卡罗来纳州地图上为数不多的竞争对手之一。州众议员詹妮弗·巴尔科姆最终获得了共和党提名，并将代替爱德华兹出现在选票上。
周二，爱德华兹恳求众议院不要谴责他-要求立法者“根据事实”对他进行评判-然后道歉说他表达友谊的方式被“误解”
爱德华兹说：“众议院的谴责在历史上是有分量的。”。＂剩下的将是“谴责”二字，它将附在我的名字上．＂
然而，谴责爱德华兹的决定并不是党派行为。
“我这样做并不高兴，但道德报告——我认为它非常清楚，令人信服，”内布拉斯加州共和党众议员唐·培根在周二投票前告诉美国广播公司新闻。“我喜欢查克。我和他一起工作过。他是主街上的一个好人。但这里的经验法则是：如果伦理委员会得出明确的结论，我们就采取行动。”
爱德华兹加入了其他三名受到谴责的现任众议院议员的行列：得克萨斯州民主党众议员阿尔·格林，最后一名受到谴责的议员，以及亚利桑那州共和党众议员保罗·戈萨和密歇根州民主党众议员拉希达·特莱布
加利福尼亚州的民主党参议员亚当·希夫（Adam Schiff）在当选参议员之前，也于2023年受到众议院的谴责。
House censures North Carolina Republican Rep． Chuck Edwards
The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday evening to censure Rep． Chuck Edwards following allegations of sexual harassment．
The House vote was 413-2， with 207 Republicans and one independent voting alongside 205 Democrats to censure the North Carolina Republican， a formal punishment recommended by the House Ethics Committee following its investigation into whether Edwards created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment in violation of House Rules， laws or other standards of conduct．
During remarks earlier Tuesday as the House debated the censure resolution， Edwards acknowledged he is ＂imperfect＂ and apologized to his wife Theresa -- but he contended that regret is ＂not an admission of sexual harassment．＂
＂I did not violate harassment law，＂ Edwards said， adding that the Ethics committee chose to ignore ＂evidence of a reciprocal friendship．＂
In areportlast month， the House Ethics Committee said it found Edwards ＂engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers，＂ including ＂providing the young women with lavish and recurrent gifts， making comments regarding their appearance and dress， inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations， sending notes regarding his effusive affection， and inviting them to other activities as a way to spend time together．＂
In the report， the committee said it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with or explicitly propositioned anyone under his employ．
Edwards is the 29th member of the lower chamber to be censured in the history of the U．S． Congress．
Just two Republicans voted against adopting the censure resolution： Edwards and Rep． Ralph Norman of South Carolina．
Following the vote， Speaker Mike Johnson asked Edwards to present himself in the well of the chamber as the censure resolution was read aloud．
Edwards stood silently -- remaining in the well until Johnson left the rostrum， approached Edwards from behind and patted him on the back -- leading him up the aisle to the back of the chamber．
During debate on the resolution， Rep． Michael Guest， the chairman of the House Ethics Committee， argued that while the allegations in the matter did not implicate a quid pro quo for sexual favors， Edwards did show a ＂lack of judgment．＂
Last month Edwardsdropped his reelection bidin his western North Carolina district against Democratic nominee Jamie Ager -- one of the few competitive races on North Carolina＇s map in 2026． State Rep． Jennifer Balkcom ultimately secured the Republican nomination and will appear on the ballot instead of Edwards．
On Tuesday， Edwards implored the House not to censure him -- asking lawmakers to judge him ＂on the facts＂ of the matter -- before apologizing that the way he expressed friendship was ＂misunderstood．＂
＂A censure by this House holds its weight in history，＂ Edwards said． ＂What will remain is the word censured， which will be attached to my name．＂
Nevertheless， the decision to censure Edwards was not a partisan exercise．
＂I do this with no joy， but the ethics report -- I think it＇s pretty clear and convincing，＂ Rep． Don Bacon， R-Neb．， told ABC News ahead of the vote Tuesday． ＂I like Chuck． I＇ve worked with him． He＇s been a good guy on Main Street． But the sort of the rule of thumb around here： if the ethics committee comes back with findings that are clear， that we act on it．＂
Edwards joins three other current members of the House who have been censured： Texas Democratic Rep． Al Green， the last lawmaker to be censured， as well as Reps． Paul Gosar， R-Ariz．， and Rashida Tlaib， D-Mich．
Democratic Sen． Adam Schiff of California was also censured by the House in 2023 before he was elected to the Senate．
