A Tennessee Republican is resigning, hours after being publicly accused of sexually harassing legislative interns. House Speaker Cameron Sexton made the announcement Thursday that East Tennessee Rep. Scotty Campbell will be stepping down.
“We have just received the letter of him resigning,” said Sexton. “And we accepted it.”
In March, an ethics subcommittee found that Campbell, R-Mountain City, violated workplace discrimination and harassment policies. He was accused of making vulgar comments and inappropriate advances toward college-aged female interns.
NewsChannel 5 reports that potentially thousands of taxpayer dollars have been spent to protect the victims. Republicans did not remove Campbell from his leadership role or his committee assignments. Campbell served as vice chair of the House Republican Caucus.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker voted earlier this month with his GOP colleagues to expel two Democrats for breaking House rules.
Campbell has denied the allegations, instead saying he engaged in “consensual adult conversations.”
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