Ousted Tennessee lawmakers eye return by way of appointment or special election

Two Democrats expelled from the Tennessee Legislature last week by more than two-thirds of their GOP colleagues say they plan to return to their seats either by being reappointed by county officials or through special elections.

Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were ousted by the Republican-controlled House for their participation in a gun-control protest on the chamber floor last month following a mass shooting at a church school in Nashville that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead.

The expulsion resolutions, which required a two-thirds majority, stated the lawmakers “knowingly and intentionally” brought “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.”

County commissioners under the state’s constitution have the power to appoint interim lawmakers until a special election can be held.

Both men, who appeared in a joint interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” are Black and have accused Republicans of expelling them over their race because they voted not to oust a third Democrat involved in the protests — albeit by just a one-vote margin — who is White.

“I’ve already heard that people in the state Legislature and in Nashville are actually threatening our Shelby County commissioners. Do not reappoint me or they’re going to take away funding that’s in the governor’s budget for projects that the mayor and others have asked for,” Mr. Pearson said.

“This is what folks really have to realize, the power structure in the state of Tennessee is always wielding against the minority party and people,” he said

Mr. Jones called their expulsion an “attack on democracy” that “is hurting all people in our state.”

“Even though it is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities, this is hurting poor White people,” he said. “Their attack on democracy hurts all of us. I just want to emphasize that, because I don’t want it to just be about race. But this is about attacks on Black, Brown and poor White communities, silencing them.”

In a potential sign of more political clashes to come, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said he believes the Metropolitan Council of Davidson County in Nashville will reappoint Mr. Jones.

“The people of @brotherjones_ and @Justinjpearson’s districts were disenfranchised today,” Mr. Cooper tweeted last week. “I’m proud that Metro Council is meeting Monday to fill the vacancy left in Nashville by today’s vote, & I believe they’ll send @brotherjones_ right back to continue serving his constituents.”

Appointed or not, both Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson are eligible to run in a special election and could only lose it if someone else were to challenge them.

If they do make it back to the legislature, the Tennessee Constitution would forbid a second expulsion for the same offense.

Republicans say their ouster was about rejecting a precedent that would be set if disrupting the chamber’s proceedings went unpunished. They also made analogies to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, which national Democrats called an attack on democracy itself. And while no Republican lawmakers were expelled then, some liberals now backing the three Tennessee Democrats did call for that to happen.

Mr. Pearson shot back Sunday by saying the statehouse has a “toxic work environment.”

The White House has stood behind the actions of Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson. Vice President Kamala Harris met with them last week during a surprise trip to Nashville. 

“That is not a democracy,” Ms. Harris said of their expulsions. “You don’t silence the people, you do not stifle the people, you do not turn off their microphones when they are speaking about the importance of life and liberty.”