Does Glen Casada have support from within the Republican caucus?

Casada maintains he has “overwhelming” support from his fellow 73 Republicans in the House, but he has not provided a specific number of how many are standing by him.

In the past two weeks, more caucus members have called for the speaker to resign or have said they are disturbed about recent news reports than those who have publicly pledged loyalty to the speaker.

Ten House Republicans have called on the speaker to step down, including Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn of Knoxville, who serves as next in line to preside over the House in Casada’s absence

Reps. Rick Tillis, R-lewisburg, and Jeremy Faison, R-cosby, have called Casada’s claim of widespread support a falsehood.

Both representatives were among the first to publicly say Casada should resign as the scandal unfolded.

Faison said based on an informal survey, he thinks about 20 members are supporting the speaker.

What is a vote of confidence?

Rep. Jerry Sexton of Bean Station was the first to suggest the House Republicans should take a “vote of confidence” on Casada’s leadership.

“The Republican Party and our caucus is at stake here,” said Sexton, who had been appointed by Casada to be a subcommittee chairman this session. “For the sake of the caucus and the Republican Party, we need to make the best decision in that respect.”

Since then, other Republican members have agreed.

While not outlined as a formal vote in the House Republican caucus bylaws, a vote of confidence could be initiated by caucus members on Monday as a way to quantitatively determine support for Casada.

Since there are no caucus rules outlining how many votes would be necessary to convey a lack of confidence in Casada, it’s likely that a majority vote would be the threshold.

What is a censure vote?

According to House Republican Caucus bylaws, a member can be censured, or have the caucus formally express disapproval, by a two-thirds majority vote and the recommendation of the majority of leadership.

A censure vote could result in any of the following actions:

❚ A letter of reprimand being kept on file for the public to view; ❚ Denial of attendance at caucus functions; ❚ Withholding of caucus funding; ❚ A recommendation to the state party for disqualification;

❚ Other actions, but those must be brought with a four-fifths majority vote.

Can Casada be kicked out of the House GOP caucus?

The caucus bylaws state that a member, who “by criminal activity or other serious notorious misconduct brings discredit to the Republican Caucus,” can be expelled from the group by a four-fifths majority vote.

If he is expelled from the caucus, Casada would be barred from caucus meetings and access to caucus funds.

But an expulsion would have no direct impact on his position as speaker or on his House seat.

If a majority of the caucus votes against keeping Casada as their speaker and he refuses to resign, a special legislative session could be called to remove him from the General Assembly.

Since Casada is unlikely to agree to a special session, Gov. Bill Lee could call one, which would require Lee to insert himself in a way he has so far largely avoided doing.

The special session would have to be called to take up legislation similar to what happened in 2016 with former Rep. Jeremy Durham, another Franklin Republican. The House then could vote to remove Casada with a two-thirds majority on a motion to expel.

Durham was expelled by his colleagues after The Tennessean detailed inappropriate texts he sent women, and an attorney general’s report said he had inappropriate sexual contact with at least 22 women.