Transgender lawmaker censured by Montana House Republicans

Table Of Content

• Growing concern over supermajority chambers
• Former Rep. Justin Pearson celebrates colleague's reinstatement but mourns another mass shooting in US
• What happens next? Will they get their seats back?
• Tennessee House advances bill to ban reappointing lawmakers booted for behavior
• Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson to get 20 minutes each to defend themselves
• Tennessee three: What you need to know about the expulsion of Democratic TN lawmakers

On Tuesday, protesters chanted “Blood is on your hands” and “Vote them out” as lawmakers voted, creating a chaotic scene before state troopers asked them to leave the gallery. Rep. Justin Jones (D), one of the lawmakers who was expelled last year, was held out of order by his colleagues for filming with his phone on the floor. The subcommittee meeting convened at a fraught time in the Tennessee House, just two days after the deadly Covenant School shooting that sparked days of highly charged gun reform protests on the Capitol. Days later, House Republicans moved to expel three Democratic lawmakers who broke House rules to briefly lead a gun reform protest on the House floor. No Democrat voted in favor of doing so, and the two Black representatives, Jones and Pearson, were ousted by votes of and 69-26, respectively, while Johnson, who is white, held on to her seat when a majority of lawmakers (65-30) voted to let her remain.

Growing concern over supermajority chambers

Jones also noted the rare instances in which the House or Senate have taken such a drastic measure against a sitting, elected representative. Jones was the first of the three to address the chamber, offering an explanation for his actions on the well of the floor on March 30. Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, center, Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, back left and Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, huddle on the floor of the House chamber Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Following the failed vote, Johnson was asked by reporters if she thought there was a reason she'd had a different outcome.

Former Rep. Justin Pearson celebrates colleague's reinstatement but mourns another mass shooting in US

According to the Tennessee state Constitution, because there are less than 12 months before the next election, the successor is to be elected by the legislative body of the replaced legislator's county of residence. Six of those were Confederates who were expelled in the 19th century for refusing to affirm the citizenship of formerly enslaved Black people. In the 20th century, a legislator was expelled after being convicted of bribery, and in 2016, a member was expelled for sexual misconduct.

What happens next? Will they get their seats back?

The highly unusual move marked the third time since the Civil War that a House member was expelled in Tennessee. Jeremy Durham, a Republican, was removed from the House over allegations of sexual misconduct with at least 22 women. Robert Fisher, also a Republican, was expelled after being convicted of soliciting a bribe in exchange for attempting to block pending legislation. Political tensions rose when Pearson, Johnson and Jones, from the House floor, joined with hundreds of demonstrators who packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun control measures.

All three lawmakers have at times publicly clashed with Republican leadership prior to The Covenant School shooting. Six lawmakers were ousted during an 1866 special session after they tried to prevent Tennessee from ratifying an amendment to the U.S. In General Assembly history, a partisan expulsion vote like Thursday's is unusual, and an expulsion push over a decorum breach is unprecedented.

Lee has since called on the General Assembly to pass legislation aimed at keeping dangerous people from acquiring weapons. It’s unclear how successful he will be at drumming up support from lawmakers within his party at the tail end of the legislative session. The arrival of high-profile Republican candidates and their potential donors comes just over a week after Tennessee Republicans took the unprecedented step of removing Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson for having led protests against gun violence on the chamber floor.

Parents take a stand during protests

Tennessee House passes bill barring local councils from returning expelled lawmakers • Tennessee Lookout - Tennessee Lookout

Tennessee House passes bill barring local councils from returning expelled lawmakers • Tennessee Lookout.

Posted: Tue, 27 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

One of the most contentious moments during Thursday’s six-hour House session came when Republican Rep. Johnny Garrett of Goodlettsville chastised the three Democratic lawmakers and moved to play a seven-minute video of the previous week’s protest. According to House rules, a two-thirds majority vote of members is required in order to expel a lawmaker. Given that 75 of the seats in the chamber are currently held by Republicans and 23 are held by Democrats, the GOP had a healthy head start on that goal. In the first expulsion vote levied at former Nashville Rep. Jones, only Republican Charlie Baum voted against ejecting the Democrat.

Congressional Black Caucus welcomes reinstatement of Rep. Justin Jones

Republicans removed two of the youngest Black lawmakers from the General Assembly, further reducing an already small minority caucus. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. In a statement shared on social media, Tennessee House Republicans said it was a "sad day" for the state — but they defended the vote as "the only path forward" in response to the trio's "disrespectful" actions.

Tennessee three: What you need to know about the expulsion of Democratic TN lawmakers

In 1866, the House expelled six members "for the contempt of the authority of this House." Expulsion from the legislature has typically been reserved for people who take bribes, commit sexual offenses, or for felons. She added, "This kind of expulsion, while deeply problematic from a democracy standpoint, provides a good way to score those points." Noting the intense political polarization and divisiveness of the post-Civil War years, Krishnakumar said, "I don't think it's an accident that we have to reach back to that era to see similar behavior by a legislature." "Antidemocratic actions are far easier to pursue if state institutions receive limited scrutiny," Seifter said.

An ethics committee was convened to investigate Robinson's case before it was brought to a vote, which Bruce Oppenheimer, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, said is typical procedure. The Senate expelled a member for the first time last year following the conviction of Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, on federal wire fraud charges. Garrett said the protest, by shutting down the work of the House, “silenced 7 million” Tennesseans.

In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers have been supportive of the idea to strengthen school safety, but they have largely rejected calls for stricter gun controls with only weeks to go in the legislative session. Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson, who represents a district in another part of the state, were expelled over their gun control demonstration on the chamber floor following the deadly Nashville school shooting. "Today's expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent," Mr. Biden said.

Johnson added that she believed Jones and Pearson had been treated differently than she ahead of the votes. “Yes indeed, happy resurrection day,” Pearson said as he signed paperwork for his return. He also voted against expelling Democrats Rep. Gloria Johnson and former Rep. Justin Pearson.

They used a bullhorn on the House floor, speaking without being recognized and leading protests calling for gun restrictions as Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the chamber, stood by. Many of the Covenant families had met with Lee and lawmakers hoping to persuade them to drop the idea of arming teachers. In the final days of the legislative session, Covenant families said they had collected nearly 4,300 signatures from Tennesseans against having public school staffers carry weapons on school grounds.

Both Pearson and Jones easily won special elections months after they were reappointed. Hundreds of people came to the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday to protest the vote and call for gun control, as WPLN's Lexi Marshall reports. The expulsions have elevated Jones and Pearson's political profiles, with little long-term gains for Republican leadership as the two lawmakers could be reappointed to their seats within days or weeks. House Republicans accused the trio of violating decorum rules when they led a raucous gun-control protest from the House floor with a bullhorn on March 30, as thousands of demonstrators descended on the state Capitol calling to restrict access to guns. Jones, Pearson and Johnson, dubbed the "Tennessee three," faced expulsion for protesting over gun reform after three students and three staff members of The Covenant School were killed in a shooting in the school on March 27. The council decided to send the ousted lawmaker back to occupy the House District 52 seat as an interim representative on Monday after he was expelled from his seat last week.

House Republican Leader William Lamberth began expulsion proceedings by outlining the timeframe. Each member facing expulsion will have 20 minutes to speak, and may have their attorney speak on their behalf during that same 20 minutes. The chamber opted to view the video on a party line vote, despite objections to its authenticity. Several Democrats spoke in stringent objection to viewing the video, including Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis.

Pearson had been in office just 10 days, making his  he was sworn in on Monday, March 27 after a special election which he won to fill the seat of the late Rep. Barbara Cooper. House Republicans have voted to oust Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, from the Tennessee House of Representatives as the chamber entered the tenth hour of session meeting Thursday. When the vote to expel Pearson was counted, the House chamber erupted with shouts of outrage from the gallery of protesters. Chaos erupted outside the chamber doors, where at least 20 protesters laid on their backs in an impromptu "die-in." Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, was expelled by a vote of 72 to 25 after 90 minutes of debate.