Speaker Mike Johnson spoke to Rep. Chuck Edwards in the hours before the North Carolina Republican ended his reelection campaign in an early-morning X post, a Johnson aide familiar with the conversation said.
Johnson declined to say in a Tuesday night interview with POLITICO whether Edwards should continue his campaign after the House Ethics Committee recommended his censure over “inappropriate conduct” with young women on his staff. He said Edwards had “a big decision” to make and that he planned to discuss the matter with him further.
That conversation happened overnight, the aide familiar with the conversation said, with Johnson encouraging Edwards “to make the right decision for his family and everyone.”