A Report Has Found That a Republican Lawmakers Sexually Harassed Staff Members. He Now Faces Calls To Resign
A Republican congressman found to have violated House rules regarding sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment is facing calls to resign.
Axios reported that the Democratic Women’s Caucus has called upon Chuck Edwards, R-North Carolina, to resign following the conclusions of the House Ethics Committee.
A report from the committee found that Edwards’ interactions with two female staffers violated House rules.
“Both women received numerous gifts from Representative Edwards, including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners,” reads a passage of the report.
The document further stated that Edwards also repeatedly made comments about how the women looked, saying things like they looked “pretty” or “breathtaking.” “Edwards acknowledged he made comments such as ‘that’s a great looking dress, I like that color, I like that texture,'” the report states.
When one of the staffers left the congressional office, Edwards wrote poems that he then read at her going-away party during a slideshow presentation that brought him to tears. “Several staffers present testified that they felt uncomfortable, and Representative Edwards acknowledged in his own testimony that he could tell the staff felt uncomfortable,” the report states.
The committee report states that it had found “numerous specific instances” where Edwards engaged in “unprofessional conduct” that gave the appearance of a “sexual or romantic advance.”
The report’s findings have prompted the House Democratic Women’s Caucus to call on Edwards to resign.
The leadership of the caucus of Democratic lawmakers wrote in an email cited by Axios that “a censure has no real consequences.”
“They had to leave their jobs, so should Rep. Edwards. He should resign immediately,” the email continued according to Axios. “Congress has a responsibility to protect the women that work here and reciting a few words of censure on the House floor doesn’t protect women from retaliation and sexual harassment.”
