2 Democrats Expelled From Tennessee House by GOP Legislature, Third Spared by 1 Vote

On Thursday, the Republican supermajority-controlled House of Representatives expelled two Tennessee Democrats from the Tennessee General Assembly after several hours of debate. However, one state representative facing expulsion held on to her seat by a one-vote margin on this historic day in the Tennessee legislature. The close vote came as a surprise since eight Republican members broke ranks to vote against the expulsion of Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knox County.

The resolutions to expel the members were introduced on April 3 after the lawmakers led protesters with a bullhorn in chants calling for tighter restrictions on gun rights while on the House floor. This followed the Covenant School shooting in Nashville the previous week.

Tennessee hardly ever removes members, as only two others have been expelled from the chamber since the Civil War. However, those votes were largely bipartisan, in stark contrast to the expulsion of two Democrats on partisan lines.

A Historic Day Unfolds

Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville was the first representative to lose his seat, and later in the evening, Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis lost his seat. Both removal votes were on party lines, with all of the chamber’s Democrat members voting against the expulsion.

The third Democrat facing expulsion held onto her seat with 65 of the 66 required votes.

Throughout the day, hundreds of protestors could be heard chanting outside the House chamber, with the rowdy crowd remaining on the Capitol grounds in Nashville for upwards of ten hours.

The loudest cheer of the day came at just before 7:00 p.m. local time, following the expulsion of Pearson, who ended his speech on an impassioned note by promising to “not quit.”

Officials in both Nashville and Memphis, which are Democratic strongholds in an otherwise red state, can reappoint the expelled members to their seats. Additionally, they cannot be expelled again for the same offenses, as per the members during Thursday’s debate.

Jones Expelled

As each of the three representatives faced separate hearings on April 6, the debate before the vote to expel Jones lasted many hours. Representatives from both sides spoke passionately and expressed emotion on this historic move to remove the members. In his closing remarks, Jones urged his colleagues to vote against his expulsion by reminding them that “the world is watching.”