Congress

Another House Republican is under the microscope for alleged sexual misconduct

Published

2 months ago

May 5, 2026

Two House Republicans who were key last month in helping oust a pair of colleagues facing sexual misconduct allegations are now eying GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards — the two-term North Carolina lawmaker being investigated by the Ethics Committee for allegedly having an improper relationship with a subordinate and sexually harassing staff.

“ANY member of congress engaging in an inappropriate relationship with staff needs to go,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said when asked about the allegations against Edwards.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said in a statement, “We stand with those who came forward and we expect the Ethics Committee to move swiftly and hold those who committed wrongdoing fully accountable.”

“We have said it from the beginning, if you are abusing your power in Congress it does not matter if you have an R or a D beside your name, there needs to be consequences for your actions,” Mace added.

In a statement Tuesday, Edwards said the “baseless allegations [are] designed to impact the campaign driven by those who want to settle old political scores.”

But Mace and Luna are two of the GOP’s most vocal advocates for victims of sexual misconduct, and most effective at amplifying their message on social media. They publicly pushed for the resignations last month of Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who were forced to leave office amid Ethics Committee investigations into accusations of sexual impropriety involving staffers. Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer, while Swalwell has apologized for lapses in his judgement but denied allegations of sexual assault.

Mace and Luna’s new warnings for Edwards — whose investigation by the Ethics Committee was confirmed by two people briefed on the matter, granted anonymity to share details of confidential proceedings — also come during the most significant reckoning over inappropriate behavior on Capitol Hill since the #MeToo era.

Leaders of both parties under increasing pressure to police their own members and prevent rampant misconduct from going unchecked. Some senior Republicans have been aware for several months about allegations that Edwards had an improper sexual relationship with a staffer, according to one of the people and three others with knowledge of the matter. Some in the GOP have declined to take photos with Edwards or appear with him at public events as a result, according to the people.

The House Ethics Committee has not yet created a subcommittee to investigate Edwards, a step which must be publicly announced and kickstarts the adjudicative process. A committee spokesperson declined to comment. The two people with knowledge of the current inquiry into Edwards, however, said the current inquiry involves an alleged relationship Edwards had with a subordinate and also alleged sexual harassment of staff.

A third person aware of the allegations against Edwards also said the lawmaker is being accused of sexual harassment and engaging in an improper sexual relationship with a staffer. That person also said Edwards allegedly gave a staff member a poem, a puzzle and flowers.

Axios first reported on the existence of the Ethics probe, and BLN reported further details on the allegations Edwards is facing.

“We welcome the ethics inquiry because it allows for facts to be entered into the record, not public allegations designed to drive media interests,” Edwards said in his statement Tuesday.

The political stakes are high for Edwards, who is facing a competitive race this November as national Democratic groups heavily target his seat. Mace, meanwhile, is running for governor of South Carolina and has made being a champion of women a centerpiece of her political identity. She has called for greater transparency in investigations of misconduct on Blue Light News, including by seeking adoption of a measure that would have forced the release of sexual harassment claims against lawmakers.

The Ethics Committee’s bipartisan leadership lobbied against that measure, saying it would have a chilling effect on victims. The House then voted to effectively kill it.

But the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee later voted to subpoena information on government-paid settlements of sexual harassment allegations against lawmakers or their offices. Mace released a list of settlementsMonday provided by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights — most, but not all of which had been previously disclosed.

“The corruption and misconduct in Congress goes far deeper than anyone outside Washington knows,” Mace said in the statement about the allegations against Edwards.

Congress

Mitch McConnell is still in the hospital after medical episode, his office says

Published

19 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized, his office said in a statement Thursday — without offering details about a recent medical episode that has renewed concern about the health of the former Republican majority leader.

McConnell “continues his recovery in the hospital” and “continues to improve,” his office said.

“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” the statement said. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

The statement did not explain why he was hospitalized last month.

The update comes after multiple outlets reported details of a first responder dispatch call indicating emergency medical personnel responded to McConnell’s home last month to treat an unconscious person who had experienced “cardiac arrest.”

Blue Light News has not independently verified the dispatch call.

The 84-year-old senator, who is retiring at the end of this term, has experienced multiple medical incidents in recent years. On two occasions in 2023, he froze while speaking with reporters. He has also suffered multiple falls and temporarily used a wheelchair, a move his office described at the time as a precautionary measure.

Congress

House Ethics says it doesn’t have information to share on lawmaker sexual misconduct settlements

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House adopted a resolution Tuesday requiring the House Ethics Committee to release information on taxpayer funds used to pay out sexual misconduct settlements with lawmakers — but the committee now says it has no information it can share.

In a statement Thursday, the committee reiterated it does not manage sexual harassment lawsuits or their settlements; taxpayers have not footed the bill for those payments since 2018.

Since that time, according to the statement, “the Committee has not been notified of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or other sexual misconduct by a Member.”

Instead, the bipartisan Ethics Committee said it was up to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to publicly release a list of each member who has received settlements for sexual misconduct allegations, as mandated by the resolution championed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

The committee, in the Thursday statement, said it “fully supports the release of information about sexual misconduct settlements and calls on OCWR to abide by [the resolution] and make publicly available information about Member sexual misconduct matters resulting in payment of taxpayer funds.”

Massie, in a text message Thursday, said “OCWR can release it.”

The OCWR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bipartisan Ethics Committee has been under pressure in recent months to show it takes allegations of sexual misconduct against colleagues seriously. Two former House members — Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) — were forced to resign earlier this year amid serious accusations against them.

The renewed reckoning has prompted new questions about whether the House is up to the task of policing its own. The resolution earlier this week was adopted nearly unanimously, with just one member, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), voting “present.”

House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said in an interview earlier this week that while he would support Massie’s resolution, the relevant “information was already out in the public domain.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

AOC endorses El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for Michigan’s open Senate seat on Thursday, a decision that comes as progressives look to capitalize off a series of recent high-profile primary victories in New York, Colorado and elsewhere.

Her endorsement could provide El-Sayed with a critical boost just over a month before the state’s Aug. 4 primary. The former public health official is locked in a heated contest against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow for the right to take on Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.

It also comes as El-Sayed has risen to the top of the pack in recent public polling.

Virtually any Democratic path to flipping the Senate in this year’s midterms would see the party hold the open Michigan Senate seat, with two-term Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) retiring at the end of his term.

The race has emerged as perhaps the largest battleground over the ideological future of the party. El-Sayed, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018, has collected endorsements from progressives, while Stevens has the tacit backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with AIPAC also boosting her candidacy.

El-Sayed, Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with The New York Times, is her party’s best chance.

“Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential,” she said. “And I think many people are willing to put aside differences in order to give us the best chance at winning. And I think that Abdul gives us that right now.”