The chamber’s GOP leader said three Democrats broke “rules of decorum and procedure” on the House floor by participating in a protest.
Topline
Tennessee’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives voted Thursday to expel two Democratic members for participating in a contentious gun reform protest in the State House last week, but failed to expel a third Democrat—marking the chamber’s first expulsions in years.Key Facts
Tennessee’s House voted 72-25 to expel Democratic Rep. Justin Jones, and voted 73-23 to expel Rep. Justin Pearson, after the three lawmakers faced scrutiny from their peers after protesting for gun reform on the floor of the House chamber.
A vote to expel Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson was just one vote shy of meeting the two-thirds majority needed to expel a representative, with 65 representatives voting in favor of the measure and 30 voting against it—Johnson, who is white, later told reporters she believes the difference in the vote count “might have to do with the color of our skin” (Jones and Johnson are Black).
A special election will be held to fill the empty House seats, though the expelled representatives can also run and return to office.
