Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton has stripped all members of the House Democratic Caucus of their committee assignments following protests for the state’s new Republican-backed congressional maps.
According to The Tennessean, Sexton removed the assignments on Tuesday (May 12) in retaliation for protests led by Democrats on the House floor as Republicans approved the maps. The maps essentially fractured the majority-Black Memphis into three districts.
This forces Black residents into neighboring areas, effectively eliminating the state’s only Democratic House seat, represented by Rep. Steve Cohen.
The map was signed into law by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on May 7 following a special legislative session.
Sexton cited various actions by caucus members who stood with protestors during the voting process that were “aimed at disrupting the democratic and legislative processes and creating disorder on the House floor.”
These include blocking aisles on the House floor, using prohibited props and noisemakers, and “instigating and encouraging disruptions of the legislative process” in coordination with protestors in the gallery.
With their removal, Democrats will no longer be involved in Tennessee’s legislative process until bills reach a final floor vote or until a special legislative session is called. While most committees meet only when the legislative body is in session, the next regular session will not occur until January 2027.
“Standing on desks, shouting from the well, displaying signs and encouraging disorder inside the chamber diminished the dignity of this body and weakened the public’s confidence in our institution,” Republican Senator Sen. Paul Bailey, who is running for lieutenant governor, wrote in a letter on May 7.
One of the Democratic senators protesting after the vote, Sen. Charlane Oliver, told the outlet that her mic was cut off as she was speaking and that her banner was “snatched out of [her] hand.”
“Calling an illegal special session to redraw racist maps between censuses is unprecedented. Rigging congressional maps to erase Black representation is disgraceful,” Oliver said in regards to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who is reportedly considering additional consequences against Tennessee Democrats over the protests.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers denounced the removal.
“I was proud to stand with @tndemocrats last week against the unconstitutional and illegal power grab,” Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, wrote in a video posted to X on Tuesday.
Rep. Justin J. Pearson of Memphis — whose brother, KeShaun Pearson, was arrested by state troopers along with at least one other individual during the protests — also decried the vote on social media Tuesday, saying it strips nearly 2 million Tennesseans of representation in the legislature.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, echoed this sentiment, calling Sexton’s move “predictable” and claiming his goal was to “deny representation,” per The Tennessean.
“His only response is to deny representation,” she said. "Each person he kicked off committees represents 70,000 people. The committees are education, they are health, they are criminal justice, civil justice. Everything that affects your lives is gone over in these committees."
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