2023 Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions

Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson (right) pictured with Vice President Kamala Harris (center) on April 7, 2023.

On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel Democratic Representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson for violating the chamber's decorum rules by leading personal protests for gun reform on the House floor and joining demonstrators in the chamber's public galleries during a legislative session three days after the 2023 Nashville school shooting.[1] Resolutions for the expulsions of Jones and Pearson passed with a two-thirds majority, and they were removed from office. The resolution against Johnson failed to pass by one vote.

The decision to expel the representatives has been called unprecedented in modern United States history,[2] with the power to expel members typically being reserved to remove members accused of serious misconduct.[3][4] The decision was condemned as authoritarian and undemocratic by a number of Democrats, including President Joe Biden,[5] former president Barack Obama,[6] and former vice president Al Gore, who served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1985 to 1993.[7] Jones, Johnson, and Pearson were dubbed by their supporters as the "Tennessee Three."[8]

The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to reinstate Jones on April 10,[9] and two days later the Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate Pearson.[10] Both legislators won their respective special elections to serve the remainder of their terms.[11]

  1. ^ Kruesi, Kimberlee; Mattise, Jonathan (April 6, 2023). "Tennessee House expels 2 Democrats over gun control protest". AP News. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Tennessee lawmakers vote to expel 2 young Black Democrats from state House". NPR. April 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Two Democratic members expelled from Tennessee house over gun control protest". The Guardian. Associated Press. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Gibson, Claire; Somasundaram, Praveena; Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan; Paúl, María Luisa; Salcedo, Andrea (April 6, 2023). "Tennessee House expels two Democrats in historic act of partisan retaliation". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ Sforza, Lauren (April 6, 2023). "Biden decries expulsion of Tennessee lawmakers as 'shocking' and 'undemocratic'". The Hill. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Gangitano, Alex (April 7, 2023). "Obama: Expulsion of Tennessee lawmakers 'a sign of weakness'". The Hill. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Garcia, Eric (April 7, 2023). "Barack Obama and Al Gore condemn Tennessee GOP for expelling Black lawmakers". The Independent. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Suliman, Adela; Jeong, Andrew (April 7, 2023). "Who are the Tennessee Three? Here's what to know". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Cochrane, Emily (April 10, 2023). "Expelled Democratic Lawmaker Is Sworn Back in to Tennessee House". New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  10. ^ Kim, Chloe (April 12, 2023). "Justin Pearson becomes second expelled Tennessee lawmaker to be reinstated". BBC. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Edelman, Adam (August 3, 2023). "Tennessee Democrats expelled by GOP over protests win back their seats". NBC News. Retrieved August 3, 2023.