Tennessee House expulsion: Why were 2 Democratic lawmakers expelled
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Jana Morgan, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, believes that the expulsion of the two Democrats could prove politically damaging for Republicans in the long term. At least one of 13 county commissioners in Shelby County have already pledged to reappoint Pearson. It remains unclear if or when a special meeting would be called on behalf of this appointment. A recent Senate win for Republicans in Wisconsin this week gives them a supermajority as they now control 22 of 33 senate seats, giving them enough power to impeach officials, including the Democratic governor. In North Carolina, a woman who won a House seat as a Democrat by 20 in the last election, switched to Republican, giving the GOP a supermajority in the House.
Protesters get riled up as House members take up expulsion resolutions
Despite the high-profile expulsions, the three could technically return to the House within days. Johnson was first elected to her Knoxville district in 2012 after retiring from teaching. After losing a reelection campaign twice to a Republican opponent, she won the seat back in 2018 and last year won election in a new district after redistricting. She's long been an outspoken Democrat, particularly decrying Tennessee's no-exceptions abortion ban in recent months.
Past expulsion saw bipartisan votes
In its history, it has expelled 20 legislators -- five in the House and 15 in the Senate. Seventeen of these expulsions occurred around 1861 in the wake of secession of the Confederate States, according to the attorney general's office. The votes temporarily removed representation for nearly 150,000 Tennesseans who overwhelmingly elected Jones and Pearson. It also marks just the fourth time since the end of the Civil War in which the House ousted sitting lawmakers. Jones and another Democratic lawmaker Rep. Justin Pearson were expelled from the state House last week over a demonstration for gun control. During a chaotic session Monday, Tennessee House Republicans introduced resolutions to expel the three.
Tennessee lawmaker expulsions: Has this happened before?
Expelled Tennessee Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson re-elected - USA TODAY
Expelled Tennessee Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson re-elected.
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The votes, held on Thursday, April 6, resulted in Justin Jones and Justin Pearson being expelled from the Tennessee State House of Representatives, while Gloria Johnson kept her seat by one vote. Late Tuesday, legislators were told they would be voting Wednesday on whether Zephyr "violated the rules, collective rights, safety, dignity, integrity or decorum of the House of Representatives" and if her actions warrant discipline. "When the speaker disallowed me to speak, what he was doing is taking away the voices of the 11,000 Montanans who represent who elected me to speak on their behalf," Zephyr said Wednesday in defense of protestors. "All representatives are free to participate in House debate while following the House rules; the choice to not follow House rules is one that Representative Zephyr has made," said House Speaker Matt Regier in a statement to reporters. A majority of states allow teachers to carry guns, usually with permission from the school district, though laws vary widely. The supermajority has left behind proposals that would require gun owners to lock up firearms and increase penalties for adults when children access guns and injure or kill someone.
In 2019, lawmakers faced pressure to expel former Republican Rep. David Byrd over accusations of sexual misconduct dating to when he was a high school basketball coach three decades earlier. Republicans declined to take action, pointing out that he was reelected as the allegations surfaced. Thousands of people flocked to the Capitol to support Jones, Pearson and Johnson on Thursday, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber loudly enough to drown out the proceedings. GOP leaders said Thursday’s actions were necessary to avoid setting a precedent that lawmakers’ disruptions of House proceedings through protest would be tolerated. The rapid and heavy-handed decision to deal with those actions through expulsion — rather than something less severe but meaningful, like voting to censure the legislators — has led to hand-wringing among Tennessee Republicans. Tennessee House Republicans were largely caught off guard by the intense national attention sparked by their decision to expel Jones and Pearson.
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New York Republican George Santos expelled by U.S. House in bipartisan vote • Tennessee Lookout.
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Rain won't stop some protesters
Pearson joined the legislature via appointment, following the death of Rep. Barbara Cooper, D-Memphis, last fall. Like Jones, the 28-year-old rose through local advocacy circles, co-founding a grassroots organization now credited with stopping a proposed crude oil pipeline from cutting through South Memphis backyards. Sarah Neumann, the mom to a 5-year-old who attends The Covenant School, watched the expulsion hearings from the House gallery. Republicans insisted expulsion, the most extreme sanction available, was the right move to protect the integrity of the House and its rules. Tennessee House Republicans said on social media that if Jones and Pearson return to the House, they hope that the duo will "act as the thousands who have come before them — with respect for our institution, their fellow colleagues and the seat they hold."
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The Tennessee House’s decision to expel two Black freshmen Democratic lawmakers fell along nearly party lines, with a few exceptions. “Our members literally didn’t look at the ethnicity of the members up for expulsion,” Majority Leader William Lamberth added. He alleged Jones and Pearson were trying to incite a riot last week, while Johnson was more subdued. Offered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack. The trio held hands as they walked onto the floor and Pearson raised a fist during the Pledge of Allegiance. Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, who has not yet announced his 2024 plans, have not commented publicly on the expulsion of Jones and Pearson.
A third Democrat — Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white — survived her expulsion vote, sparking accusations of racism that focused national attention on the GOP-led House. He was ruled out of order twice and lawmakers voted to cut his comments short during two other proposals Monday. In an extraordinary move, Tennessee's Republican-led House voted Thursday to expel two of three Democratic lawmakers who recently led a raucous protest from the House floor calling for gun law reforms.
The House’s vote to remove Pearson and Jones but keep white state Rep. Gloria Johnson drew accusations of racism. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, noting that Johnson’s role in the protest didn’t involve some steps that Jones and Pearson took, including speaking into a bullhorn. Republicans banished Pearson and state Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in the protest on the House floor over the shooting, which left three children and three adults dead.
Lawmakers have approved measures to make gun manufacturers mostly immune from liability in crimes involving their guns and require the state to track firearm deaths and injuries. The House approved the measure as protesters shouted objections, nearly drowning out the proceedings with chants of “Not one more kid! ” At least one person was kicked out of the gallery by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R). NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As lawmakers filed into the House chamber after a lunch break on Thursday, the desk of former state Rep. Scotty Campbell sat empty, the characteristic lawmaker name plate missing from its front. And while Jones and Pearson appear poised to win back their seats in the Tennessee House, the move to expel them in the first place may have longer-lasting implications.
He said he hopes this sends a message to Republican leadership and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton that “the people will not let his crimes against democracy happen without challenge." He called for Sexton to resign as the speaker. The chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners has called a special meeting for Wednesday to consider reappointing Pearson to his former seat. Jones said being expelled and reinstated made him understand that "we need more representatives who are willing to risk a title to be with the people, to stand with the people. We need bold leadership." "As a former 25-year state Senator and current Member of Congress, I understand the need for compliance with rules in a legislative body. The three Democratic Members did violate the rules of decorum, however I believe expulsion to be too extreme a consequence," Cohen wrote. "Heightened emotions prompted by the horrific Covenant School shootings that resulted in the death of six Tennesseans, including three nine-year-olds, should be a mitigating factor in any disciplinary response." Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, briefly left the House floor during session on Thursday to greet supporters in the gallery.
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