Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has stepped down shortly after apologizing for accepting a payment of $10,000 per month from a consultancy firm for a marijuana company. While Fagan initially resisted state Republicans' calls for her to resign, she conceded on Tuesday that the situation was distracting from her work.
“While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical guidelines in trying to make ends meet for my family, it is clear that my actions have become a distraction from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s office,” Fagan said in a statement. “Protecting our state’s democracy and ensuring faith in our elected leaders — these are the reasons I ran for this office. They are also the reasons I will be submitting my resignation today.”
Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, the two Tennessee state representatives who were expelled by House Republicans earlier this year, won back their seats.
Tennessee Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who became Democratic heroes as members of the “Tennessee Three,” reclaimed their legislative seats Thursday after they were expelled for involvement in a gun control protest on the House floor.
