After facing sexual harassment allegations, state Sen. Charles Schwertner has told the Senate's leader he no longer wants his post as chair of the powerful health and human services committee.
In a letter sent to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday, the Georgetown Republican indicated he planned to remain in the Senate but no longer wished to serve as a chairman, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Schwertner, a physician, won re-election to the Senate in November after the University of Texas at Austin opened an investigation into allegations that the senator sent lewd messages to a graduate student. UT-Austin ended its investigation in December, concluding that the “available evidence does not support a finding” against Schwertner but did not clear him of any wrongdoing.
Schwertner has denied sending the messages.
This developing story will be updated.
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