The Tennessee House speaker’s chief of staff has resigned Monday soon after reports surfaced that he and the speaker exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women.
The Tennessean revealed Monday that Republican Rep. Glen Casada’s now former chief of staff Cade Cothren, 32, had a history of making inappropriate advances toward interns, sending lewd text messages, and used cocaine in the legislative office building.
The text messages uncovered span from 2014 to 2016 when Cothren was serving as House Republicans’ press secretary. Some of those messages were sent to Casada, who has not resigned as a result of the scandal.
In one of the messages to Casada, Cothren sent a photo of an upside-down woman next to a pole. Casada responded, “What about some pole dancing?” Casada also asked “Can I just touch????”
Cothren responded, “Lol maybe just once.”
In another message to Casada about a sexual encounter he had at a restaurant he texted: “Just so y’all know, I did f–k [woman’s name] in the bathroom at party fowl. Will send pictures later.”
Casada responded: “Only gone for 60 seconds. R u a minute man???;)”
Cothren said, “Yes, I take after you. Like father like son.”
The speaker responded, “Lolol! If I’m happy, then all is good!!!!!”
In 2015, Cothren reportedly asked for oral sex and nude photos from an intern. He also asked her if she had on underwear and tried to discuss orgasms with her.
Prior to his resignation, Cothren admitted to the text messages in a Monday interview with the paper but said he had since changed.
“I’m just not the same guy that I was several years back,” Cothren said. “I was young and dumb and immature. There’s no excuse for it at all, and I’m not trying to make excuses, but I can tell you that I have changed since then.”
The news comes after last week’s reports that Cothren sent text messages containing racial slurs about African Americans.
After initially defending Cothren, Casada said Monday after the existence of the text messages emerged that he would have to “re-evaluate” his previous support for his now former chief of staff.
