State Rep. Armstrong resigns ahead of expected ouster
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – State Rep. Joe Armstrong has resigned from the Tennessee General Assembly, putting off an expected move to oust him following a felony conviction in federal court.
Lawmakers are returning into special session next week to repeal a state DUI law that threatened to cost $60 million in federal road money.
House Speaker Beth Harwell has said that lawmakers will also take up efforts to remove Armstrong and another sitting member of the House during the special session.
Armstrong’s resignation Friday means that that move will now be limited to representative Jeremy Durham, a Franklin Republican who was the subject of an extensive sexual-harassment probe by the state attorney general.
Harwell has said that the move to remove Durham has the support of enough members to reach the two thirds threshold needed to succeed.
