Republicans vote no confidence in Casada
Action could set in motion vote to oust embattled House speaker
Joel Ebert and Natalie Allison USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE — In a major blow to the third-highest ranking Tennessee politician, the House Republican caucus determined it had no confidence in Speaker Glen Casada on Monday based on his role in exchanging misogynistic text messages with his former chief of staff.
With a secret ballot, the GOP caucus voted 45-24 on a resolution that said it no longer had confidence in the speaker’s leadership.
The action was a worst-case scenario for the Williamson County lawmaker who was first elected to the legislature in 2001.
The meeting came just two weeks after Cade Cothren, Casada’s former top aide, resigned after The Tennessean published a story detailing inappropriate sexual text messages about women sent to Casada.
Cothren previously admitted to cocaine use in the legislature’s office building and also faced media reports of sending racist text messages.
The caucus decision could set into motion a series of events that prompt the full House to take a vote on ousting Casada, although that remains a distant scenario for now.
After the vote, Casada in a statement suggested he would continue to serve in the role and try to earn back trust.
“I’m disappointed in the results of today’s caucus vote,” he said. “However, I will work the next few months to regain the confidence of my colleagues so we can continue to build on the historic conservative accomplishments of this legislative session.”
The 73-member caucus reached the decision after a nearly 3-hour-long meeting. Heading into the gathering, the group was tasked with deciding whether members still had confidence in Casada’s ability to continue leading the chamber.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-portland, and House GOP caucus chairman Cameron Sexton, Rcrossville, announced the results of the meeting around 5:30 p.m.
“What changed today is we now know how a majority of the members of the (House) Republican caucus feel about the allegations that have been made and what they have heard,” Lamberth said.
Lamberth noted Casada, who was present for the meeting, said Monday’s vote gave him something to consider.
“Over the next few months ... he would try everything he could to try and regain their confidence,” Lamberth said repeating Casasda’s comments.
Sexton said there was nothing the GOP caucus could do to remove Casada as speaker.
Democrats, other top GOP say Casada should now resign
Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart, D-nashville, said in light of the vote, he believed Casada would now resign.
“If he doesn’t, then we have a constitutional crisis and the governor needs to immediately call a special session,” Stewart said.
The House Democratic caucus, along with the Tennessee Caucus of Black State Legislators, have already called on Casada to step down.
“We’ve made it clear that we want that, and I think now you see that the vast majority of Republicans also want him to resign,” Stewart said.
But Sexton and Lamberth downplayed the notion of a special session for now.
Lamberth said even if the House cast a two-thirds vote to expel Casada from the legislature, legal experts have given some indication he would remain speaker.
“There is not a clear cut mechanism on the House floor to remove a speaker,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Lt. Gov. Randy Mcnally said said House Republicans have “now spoken clearly and distinctly.”
“I am hopeful Speaker Casada will put the legislature, the party and the state first and heed the call of his colleagues,” said Mcnally, R-oak Ridge.
Scott Golden, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, said Monday’s vote sent a clear message that “it is time for the speaker to heed the advice of the majority of his fellow legislators and step down from his position of leadership.”
ANDREW WIGDOR/THE TENNESSEAN
Meeting took placement in basement conference room
The day began around 2:30 p.m., when the group of 69 Republican lawmaker gathered at the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Nashville. There they were were met by reporters and activists as they filed into a basement conference room adorned with modern art.
Audio of chirping birds played over a speaker in the hallway next to photos of nude women, a rooster in a glass cage and other objects.
Legislative staff, reporters and the public were not allowed into the meeting, and members’ phones and purses could be seen placed on a table in the back of the room away from where the lawmakers sat.
At one point, a black SUV believed to be driven by Casada’s assigned Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper was wrapped by protesters with yellow caution tape. Protesters placed handmade signs addressing racism in the Capitol next to the vehicle, which was eventually moved to another location.
Meeting held despite Casada’s efforts to allay caucus concerns
Monday’s caucus meeting came despite Casada’s efforts to allay concerns about his ability to continue leading the House.
In recent days, Casada has resisted a chorus of calls for his resignation, hosted a caucus phone call, lobbied lawmakers, including many freshmen he helped get elected, sought advice from a public relations firm and created an action plan to address the current crisis.
During the conference call May 8, Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-bean Station, raised the notion of holding a special caucus meeting. Sexton later became one of 12 Republicans to sign onto a letter to order the gathering.
But Casada also allegedly attempted to influence the outcome of an ethics proceeding, something that caused more GOP lawmakers to question his leadership.
Ahead of the meeting, about 25 protesters gathered on the steps of the state Capitol to call for the speaker’s resignation.
Activists with organizations such as Enough is Enough, a political action committee launched to oppose Rep. David Bryd, Women’s March Tennessee and the Rutherford County Democratic Party were among those protesting.
The group held signs and took turns giving speeches, claiming that Casada perpetuated a cycle of misogyny, racism and bigotry in his position and that he protected sexual predators.
Byrd, R-waynesboro, is accused of sexually assaulting three women in the 1980s when he was their high school basketball coach.
“I think it’s really disgraceful what Casada’s been doing, and now that it’s out, he should resign,” said Anna Grabowski, who along with her husband came to protest the speaker. “If he won’t resign, they need to get him out of his post as speaker, at least that.”
Deborah Johnson, the chair of communications for the Rutherford County Democratic Party, said that Casada “defended” and “promoted” an “admitted pedophile.”
Earlier in the day Monday, Enough is Enough debuted a billboard along Interstate 65 calling on Republicans to force Casada out.
And also on Monday morning, yet another member of the GOP — Randy Ellis of the Tennessee Republican Party’s state executive committee — called for Casada to resign.
Ellis said the Casada scandal has turned into a “national embarrassment” and it is time for the speaker to step aside. “This ordeal has overshadowed all the hard work and accomplishments our legislature has worked so hard for during the last session,” Ellis wrote in an email. “It is time to end this prolonged drama. For the sake of our great party and the state of Tennessee, I call for Speaker Casada to step down as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.”
The governor, meanwhile, said it remained premature to decide whether a special session was necessary.