politics
House Ethics Committee Investigates Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Rep. Chuck Edwards
The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into allegations against Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. Rep. Nancy Mace disclosed records of more than $338,000 in taxpayer-funded settlements tied to congressional sexual misconduct cases from 2007 to 2017. Many earlier records were destroyed under retention policies.
May 5, 3:09 PM·3m read3 sources
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The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from North Carolina. Axios first reported the probe. Edwards, 65, a two-term lawmaker married since 1980, said the allegations are baseless and designed to impact his campaign and settle old political scores.
Edwards stated that he welcomes the ethics inquiry because it allows facts to be entered into the record. He has denied any wrongdoing. The House Ethics Committee has not publicly announced the investigation. A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.
The probe occurs as Edwards faces a competitive reelection challenge in November’s midterm elections. House Democrats’ campaign arm is supporting Democrat Jamie Ager in the effort to flip the seat. Ager said corruption or abuses of power in any way are unacceptable and that the people of Western North Carolina deserve to hear from their representative about the allegations.
Rep. Nancy Mace said she hopes the House Ethics Committee moves swiftly to review the allegations against Edwards. She said lawmakers stand with those who came forward and expect the committee to hold those who committed wrongdoing fully accountable.
Mace added that if a member is abusing power in Congress, it does not matter if they have an R or a D beside their name, as there need to be consequences.
On May 5, 2026, Mace shared the names of eight former members and the office of one former member after obtaining records from the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. She posted a picture of a binder containing the records on X and stated that the results of her subpoena of Congress's sexual harassment slush fund are in, with nine members and one thousand pages.
The records come from the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights and cover the period beginning in 2007 and stretching into 2017, consisting of more than 1,000 pages. The settlements are paid by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights Section 415 fund authorized by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.
