WASHINGTON — Text messages used as evidence in an ethics report show that U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, on more than one occasion, put spending time with a young, female staffer over his constituents.

And a campaign finance report indicates that the Western North Carolina Republican used donations meant for his now-defunct reelection campaign to pay for at least one trip to Las Vegas with her.

Last week, the House Committee on Ethics announced its members found “substantial evidence” that Edwards, a married man, sexually harassed two young women on his staff who were at least 40 years his junior. They also found “substantial evidence” that he created a hostile work environment that caused both women to leave their jobs at the Capitol.

McClatchy analyzed roll call vote tallies, campaign finance reports and the evidence from the ethics report. In at least three instances with the same staffer, Edwards missed votes to decorate her Christmas tree, canceled a call-in event for constituents during a government shutdown to go to dinner with her, and traveled with her to Las Vegas as the shutdown dragged on.

The text messages released by the committee also show when Edwards booked their flights to Las Vegas. The date matches two recorded flights listed in his campaign finance reports, indicating he used donors’ money for a personal trip.

The texts also reveal an instance when spending time with Edwards left his employee too intoxicated to work the next day.

Edwards’ campaign adviser, Paul Shumaker, said he does not keep up with his clients’ calendars.

“I’m focused on polling and messaging and all of that,” he said. “I do know that members (of Congress) can use campaign funds for travel and things of that nature, that’s outside of official business. And they supplement that all the time. So that’s part of that. I would not think it is unusual at all.”

Shumaker directed McClatchy to the Federal Election Commission when it was pointed out that this was a personal trip. And when asked how donors would feel, Shumaker told McClatchy that the newspaper was speculating and declined to answer.

He also directed McClatchy to call Edwards’ campaign treasurer, Thomas Davis, but referred the newspapers to the campaign’s FEC report for Davis’ contact information. He also said he wasn’t sure Davis would comment.

Davis did not immediately return an email sent to the address listed on Edwards’ FEC report.

Brett Kappel, a lawyer at the firm Harmon Curran who tracks campaign finance, lobbying and government ethics laws, told McClatchy that this trip violated both House rules and FEC rules.

“Under no circumstances may Members convert campaign funds to personal use for themselves or for anyone else,” Kappel said. “Campaign funds may not be used to enhance an individual’s lifestyle, for personal enjoyment or entertainment, or to pay an individual’s personal obligations.”

Texting staffers

The series of text messages involved in this report begins at 8:35 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2024.

Edwards sent a message to the staffer, who is not named in the ethics report.

“Good Morning,” he wrote. “I’m really excited to work on your lawn and set up your Christmas tree tomorrow!”

Congress was in its last week of work before heading home for the holidays. But the holidays were not yet top of mind for Edwards’ fellow Republicans from North Carolina.

Reps. David Rouzer, of Wilmington, and Richard Hudson, of Southern Pines, were preparing to go to the floor to fight for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina to get federal recognition.

The tribe had sought this status for 136 years, while the Eastern Band of Cherokee, in Edwards’ district, fought against them. It wouldn’t be until a year later that the Lumbee tribe finally won that battle.

Edwards continued his message.

“Here’s another offer I hope you’ll take me up on, unless of course you’ve made other arrangements,” Edwards wrote. “What if I skip votes and help you decorate your tree once you get home tomorrow?”

He added that he didn’t want to overstay his welcome, but he did want her to enjoy her Christmas tree as long as possible. He added that it would give him “the opportunity to spend a little more time with you.”

He waited three hours for her response: “I would love to decorate the tree with you! But are you sure about skipping votes? We could plan for it another evening this week?”

He was sure.

“I am beyond thrilled that you’ll let me help you, I can hardly contain myself,” he wrote back with exclamation points. “And Yes, I’m sure about skipping votes — so you’ll get to enjoy your tree a bit longer.”

He had one caveat, he couldn’t miss the vote on Lumbee recognition.

Congressional records show that Edwards missed four votes the next day: The Autism CARES Act of 2024; Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act; renaming a San Francisco post office after the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein; and the Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act of 2024 addressing judicial vacancies.

Skipping votes

Those were four of the 36 roll-call votes Edwards missed out of 1,886 during his time in Congress. McClatchy used the Clerk of the House’s Roll Call tallies to hand count every vote missed by Edwards.

That included seven in 2023, 17 in 2024, 10 in 2025 and two this year.

Voteview, a website that tracks members’ time in Congress, gave Edwards a 98% attendance record for the current session that began in January 2025.

Five members of North Carolina’s House delegation have 100% attendance rates: Reps. Deborah Ross, Virginia Foxx, Mark Harris, Alma Adams and Tim Moore. Three have 99% attendance rates: Reps. Addison McDowell, David Rouzer and Richard Hudson.

Reps. Don Davis, Valerie Foushee, Pat Harrigan and Brad Knott all share Edwards’ 98% attendance rate.

Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from Greenville, had the lowest attendance of the delegation at 87%, though his absences were due to recovery from surgery to remove a skull tumor.

Edwards’ pressure

In testimony revealed in the ethics report, one staffer told the committee she “didn’t know how to say no.” She added that she and the other employee were “very young” and were taught they “needed to be grateful.” It was as they got older they began realizing that none of it was normal, she said, including how he spoke to them and isolated them.

She quit Edwards’ office early this year. The other employee had left the previous summer.

The second employee testified that she was “in too deep” and she voiced concerns to other staffers that Edwards would have an “adverse reaction” if she set boundaries.

And that is how she found herself in Las Vegas with Edwards months after leaving his office.

Edwards casino visits

Going to casinos with Edwards wasn’t unusual. He bought her drinks, paid for her to gamble and spent those evenings with her, the report states.

Outings described in the ethics report began on Feb. 13, 2025. Edwards and the employee spent that evening texting back and forth about a vote on the budget and a show she attended; she thanked Edwards for the show.

Just after 10 p.m.; when the show ended, Edwards asked her if she was still planning to go to the casino. He confirmed that votes were over, and they agreed to meet.

It’s not clear what casino they went to, but there are several in the Washington area, including MGM National Harbor in Maryland.

Details of what they did at the casino weren’t available in the report, but she texted she had just gotten home at 1:29 a.m. on Feb. 14.

“Thanks again for a fun evening,” she wrote. “Even though it didn’t go as originally planned, it was still fun to go back to the casino together!”

Edwards thanked her for letting him know she made it home safely, said he had a great time with her and hoped he was the first to wish her a Happy Valentine’s Day.

“You are,” she wrote back. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you too :) a fantastic way to start the day!”

Edwards would try to take her to a casino again on March 22, 2025.

At 1:51 a.m. on March 21, he wrote to her saying he had the best night.

She agreed, but added: “That said, what are the odds I can play hooky today as I’m still intoxicated and cannot drive right now.”

He gave her permission and made plans to go to the zoo, dinner and a show with her the next day. Later that evening, he threw out many ideas for things that they could do between the zoo and dinner, including “wiping out the casino.”

Two days later he would text her photos of their day, and the message: “Hi! I’ll always cherish every moment of our time these last couple of days. Thank you! Here are a few of my keepsakes in case you may want them too.”

There’s no evidence in the report she responded.

Planning Vegas

In the fall, Congress began its annual task of trying to fund the government.

The House voted on Sept. 19, 2025, to extend government funding at its current levels through Nov. 21, 2025. House Speaker Mike Johnson then sent members home for a scheduled district work period.

Work periods are typically meant to spend time in the district with constituents or for campaigning.

Edwards, however, seems to have spent some of his time with the second woman, now a former staffer.

The ethics committee released some disjointed texts between the two showing that they had dinner, and later in the week she discussed a hangover from their time together.

Edwards wrote to her that he hoped she was serious about going to Las Vegas with him. She didn’t answer that text, but that didn’t stop Edwards.

She told the committee, according to the report, she felt pressured to go because of his persistence and because he still had influence over her new career. She told them she “did not think that having a Member of Congress against me would benefit my career.”

Government shutdown

House members planned to return to Washington on Sept. 29, but Johnson canceled the two-day session after the Senate failed to pass the House’s continuing resolution.

Senate Democrats used the shutdown to bring Republicans into negotiations over expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Democrats feared that if they didn’t extend those subsidies, healthcare costs could rise 400%.

That launched, on Oct. 1, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

But Las Vegas was still at the forefront of Edwards’ mind. On Oct. 5, he reached for his phone again to ask his former employee to go there with him.

Both were free from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13. They began planning their hotel reservations at the Bellagio, what to wear and what side of Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders, they should sit on.

Text messages show that Edwards began booking the airline tickets for both himself and his former staffer.

Edwards’ campaign reported a disbursement for a trip on Oct. 6. The campaign booked two flights, one on American Airlines and one on Allegiant Air.

Edwards texted the woman the same day asking for her American Airlines loyalty number and then confirmed he booked her ticket. On the same day, the campaign recorded spending $463.48 with American Airlines. He spent $112 on Allegiant Air. And he spent $18 on flight insurance.

Later that night, the former employee texted Edwards that because her childhood best friend’s grandfather died, she needed to go home and couldn’t make the trip. He understood, he said, but persisted.

On Oct. 7, Edwards texted her again asking if they could reschedule. The former employee told Edwards she needed to check her family’s “week of Thanksgiving plans” before confirming she could travel with him.

She added, “In the meantime, if you’re interested, I’ll be driving into Charlotte on Thursday night and have a free evening. If it’s not too far or you’re not busy, we could grab dinner again?”

Edwards replied: “I’m interested!! In fact, I just cancelled Thursday’s Tele Town Hall so I can do it. What do you have in mind? Or, if you give me a time I’ll be happy to plan it.”

She wrote back to Edwards that she didn’t realize he had the town hall scheduled.

“That was my choice,” he texted back. “I had far rather have dinner with you. I’ve rescheduled the Tele Town to next week.”

Shutdown impact

At this point, the United States was seven days into the shutdown.

Federal workers would spend 43 days without being paid. At the time, the Congressional Research Office estimated that nearly 7,000 federal workers lived in Edwards’ district.

Trump threatened not to give federal employees back pay and to lay off a substantial number of those workers. But the fallout wasn’t just affecting them. The economy took a short-term hit.

Trump also threatened not to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a way to get Democrats to fold. And despite a court’s intervention, many people faced delays in getting their full benefits from the program.

That had drastic impacts on Western North Carolina, where residents continued rebuilding after Helene destroyed their communities in October 2024, and more people were now using that social safety net program.

Edwards had scheduled the tele-town hall to address questions his constituents had about the shutdown.

But he decided they could wait until Oct. 14, and went to dinner with his former employee instead.

Las Vegas trip

The next day, on Oct. 15, he tried again to plan Vegas.

He asked about Nov. 8-17. She confirmed that she was free Nov. 9-11.

She told the committee: “I said no pretty frequently. It became clear that he was going to continue to provide alternative dates and encourage me to go if I didn’t already agree.”

He paid for their flights, their rooms at the Bellagio and a show at the Sphere.

Edwards texted her the night before she landed that he “was practically bouncing off the walls” thinking about their trip.

After getting there, she warned him that he was making her uncomfortable due to a note delivered to her with a bouquet of flowers, and she asked if the trip was meant to be something more. He assured her otherwise. She apologized, and they went to explore Las Vegas together.

Another staffer testified to the committee that the woman who traveled to Las Vegas with Edwards was “generally concerned about turning down the Congressman because of his temper.” She confided in her colleague that she felt she had to choose her words very carefully, testimony indicates.

Edwards’ trip with the young woman was cut short.

On Nov. 10, Edwards texted her that he had to deal with some conference calls and to charge any food she wanted to the room.

An hour later he texted: “I must get back to DC ASAP,” with a crying emoji.

Reopening the government

That evening, the Senate passed an amended version of the House’s continuing resolution, meaning if the House agreed, the government would be funded through Jan. 30, 2026.

But another side effect of the shutdown was that federal employees who worked at airports were choosing not to come into work if they weren’t being paid. That caused a logistical nightmare for House leadership trying to get its members back for the vote.

Text messages indicate Edwards was likely among those having problems. He initially texted his former employee that his flight out of Las Vegas was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, but it wouldn’t be until 4:36 p.m on Nov. 11 that his flight took off for Washington.

Edwards’ campaign finance report shows he paid four Ubers and taxis a combined $144.45 on Nov. 10, while still in Las Vegas.

On Nov. 11, he charged his campaign $185.52 for a hotel in Washington’s Navy Yard, a neighborhood near the Capitol.

Edwards did make it to the final vote at 8:21 p.m. on Nov. 12 and agreed to reopen the government.

He would try to plan another trip with the former staffer, to New York City on Dec. 5. That’s where the text messages end.

The House Committee on Ethics recommended Edwards for censure. He dropped his reelection campaign as a result, but because he’s still in Congress, he could still face the committee’s punishment.

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