Last 3 Republicans to represent North Carolina’s 11th district faced House Ethics action
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A News 13 investigation has found that the last three Republicans to represent North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District have each faced action by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.
Former Rep. Mark Meadows, who was elected in 2012 and took office in January 2013, was sanctioned by the House Ethics Committee in 2015. The committee ordered Meadows to reimburse the U.S. Treasury after determining he improperly used taxpayer funds to continue paying his former chief of staff, Kenny West, following allegations that West had sexually harassed multiple female staffers.
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According to the committee, Meadows ignored recommendations to fire West following an internal investigation and instead approved severance payments funded by congressional funds.
Meadows resigned from Congress in March 2020 to become White House chief of staff during President Donald Trump’s first term. The 11th District seat remained vacant until Republican Madison Cawthorn was sworn into office in January 2021.
FILE – White House chief of staff Mark Meadows speaks with reporters outside the White House, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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Cawthorn later became the subject of his own House Ethics Committee investigation in 2022, when the committee concluded that he had improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he held a financial interest. He was fined $15,000 and later lost his Republican primary to Chuck Edwards.
NOV. 19, 2022 Then NC District 11 Rep. Madison Cawthorn after losing the primary election to Chuck Edwards. (Photo credit: WLOS)
Edwards took office in January 2023 and was re-elected in 2024. He is now facing his own ethics case after the House Ethics Committee recommended that he be censured. Edwards has denied any wrongdoing and has criticized the committee’s findings.
The full House is expected to consider whether to censure Edwards when lawmakers return to session.