Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-North Carolina) said early Wednesday that he was dropping his reelection bid after the House Ethics Committee recommended censuring him in a report that detailed “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two young female staffers. According to the report, Edwards gave staffers “lavish and recurrent gifts,” including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cellphones. After the House committee released its recommendation Monday, Edwards’s attorneys said they had come to an “expeditious and unfounded resolution,” calling the recommended censure “extraordinarily harsh.” If the House adopts the committee’s recommendation to censure Edwards, it also could vote to remove him from his committee assignments. The post Rep. Chuck Edwards drops reelection bid following House censure recommendation appeared first on Washington Post.