Rep. Mike Carter speaks during the Education Mini-Summit 2016 at the Volkswagen Conference Center on Sept. 20.NASHVILLE – State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, said Tuesday he wants a special legislative session to remove Tennessee Republican House Speaker Glen Casada not only from the speaker position but as a member of the General Assembly.
Casada announced Tuesday he would step down as speaker after a resounding “no confidence” vote of 45-24 by Republican Caucus members, followed by a call from Republican Gov. Bill Lee for him to vacate the speakership. The ongoing scandal over his inappropriate responses to text messages from a former aide and other concerns recently brought to light have affected his ability to lead and overshadowed the work that legislators should be focusing on for Tennessee voters, they said.
Casada said Tuesday that he will meet with Republican Caucus leaders once he returns from a scheduled vacation to determine the best date for him to resign as speaker.
But Carter said in an interview that Casada’s statement “left me with more questions than answers. No date was given, and there was no statement that he would resign [from] the House as well as his speaker position.”
If Casada remains in the House, Carter said, “it would be difficult to work with him after you voted no confidence, and it could fractionalize the Republican Caucus.” Moreover, the attorney said, removing Casada as a representative “may be essential to his removal as speaker.”