NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Amid the frenzied negotiations, flaring tempers and occasional frivolity marking the end of another Tennessee legislative session, one lawmaker stayed conspicuously alone and quiet.
While Republicans and Democrats held emergency caucus meetings to discuss the latest twists in the legislative endgame, Rep. Jeremy Durham sat at his desk in the largely deserted House chamber.
Durham, who faces a sexual harassment investigation by the state attorney general, found himself shunned after Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell effectively exiled him from the legislative office complex and Capitol for any purpose other than to perform his official duties.
Harwell took that unusual step after Attorney General Herbert Slatery went public with preliminary findings suggesting that Durham's "behavior may pose a continuing risk to unsuspecting women who are employed by or interact with the Legislature."