This morning, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said she unilaterally removed Sen. Nicole Mitchell from her Senate Committees duties and from future Democrat caucus meetings. Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson released the following statement:

“Removing Sen. Mitchell from Senate Committees is not enough. As caucus leaders, we are responsible to hold our members accountable for their actions. Instead, this half-hearted punishment is a partisan effort to protect a political agenda and allow Sen. Mitchell to be the deciding vote on the floor.

“Senate Republicans are committed to getting the business done at the Senate – as we demonstrated last week. But we will not tarnish the Senate’s reputation by voting alongside someone facing felony charges and without a final decision by the Ethics Subcommittee.”

Without further action by the body, Sen. Mitchell may vote on floor motions, offer amendments, participate in debate, and cast the deciding vote in favor or opposition to final bills and conference committee reports before they are signed by the Governor.