TN House Speaker Falls To Mounting Scandals, Will Resign In Coming Weeks

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2013 file photo, House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin participates in an ethics training session in the House chamber in Nashville, Tenn. Casada, a staunch opponent of Repu... FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2013 file photo, House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin participates in an ethics training session in the House chamber in Nashville, Tenn. Casada, a staunch opponent of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to extend health coverage to 200,000 low-income Tennesseans, on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, decried what he called "dishonest scare tactics" by a conservative group running radio ads targeting GOP lawmakers. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig, File) MORE LESS
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Powerful Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada (R) has been officially felled by the weeks of scandal plaguing his administration, and plans to resign when he comes back from vacation.

“When I return to town on June 3, I will meet with Caucus leadership to determine the best date for me to resign as Speaker so that I can help facilitate a smooth transition,” he said in a statement obtained by TPM.

His office did not immediately elaborate on his future plans as a regular House member.

His decision comes just a day after he failed a “no confidence” vote in the Republican caucus and Gov. Bill Lee (R) threatened to call a special session to elect a new speaker if Casada didn’t bow out.

Lee tweeted in approval of Casada’s decision.

Mike Stewart, the Democratic House caucus chairman, saw Casada’s resignation as an inevitable conclusion.

“I think once Casada got the vote of ‘no confidence’ by such a wide margin from Republicans, it was inevitable that he would resign,” Stewart told TPM. “I think that Republicans knew that absent his resignation, you would just have further scandal upon further scandal, that this was just the tip of the iceberg. They could not continue effectively with that leadership.”

He said that unless the Speaker decides to resign his seat altogether, Casada will finish his term as a normal House member until his reelection in 2020. He added that Rep. Bill Dunn, the Speaker Pro Tempore, is next in the line of succession.

“Once the scandals continued unabated with a new one every day, I was not surprised that the Republicans decided it was just not tenable,” he concluded. “I’m not surprised that ultimately, wiser heads prevailed within the Republican network.”

It’s a stunning conclusion to two weeks of scandal so untenable that it brought down both Casada and his top aide in ruby red Tennessee where Republicans enjoy supermajorities in both chambers. The hits stacked up in the form of sexist and racist texts, alleged attempts to get an activist tossed in jail and drug use on government property. Read all about it here.

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