White House: Tenn. Republicans’ expected vote to expel Dems over gun protests ‘undemocratic’

The White House on Thursday condemned as “shocking” and “undemocratic” the moves by Republicans in Tennessee to expel three Democrats from the state Legislature for their roles in gun control protests.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre opened Thursday’s briefing with those comments, less than two weeks after three 9-year-old children and three adults were fatally shot at an elementary school in Nashville, the state capital. Tennessee’s House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on the removal of the Democratic representatives who led a protest on the chamber floor following the mass shooting at The Covenant School on March 27.

“The fact that this vote is happening is shocking, undemocratic and without precedent,” Jean-Pierre said. “Across Tennessee and across America, our kids are paying the price for the actions of Republican lawmakers who continue to refuse to take action on stronger gun laws.”

The Tennessee Legislature has captured national attention after three state lawmakers — Reps. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis — used a bullhorn to amplify calls for gun policy reform as demonstrators at the state capitol called for lawmakers to take action last week. The lawmakers approached the lectern without being recognized, interrupting legislative business. House Speaker Cameron Sexton called the protests “an insurrection.”

The lawmakers were quickly stripped of their committee assignments, and GOP lawmakers filed three resolutions this week seeking the Democrats’ removal, in a rare and historic step that the state House has taken only twice since the 1860s. If the vote succeeds, it will mark an unprecedented use of power by Republicans who control both chambers of the Tennessee Legislature. The GOP holds 75 of the 99 seats in the House, and the three Democrats will be removed if the vote falls along party lines. The rare step typically occurs only when members are accused of crimes or ethics violations.

The White House has weighed in twice this week, criticizing the action for its partisan nature amid a national epidemic of gun violence that continues to rock the country. So far this year, the U.S. has seen 141 mass shootings and 65 children have been killed because of gun violence, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The White House on Thursday repeated President Joe Biden’s futile pleas for Congress to reimplement an assault weapons ban. Jean-Pierre also said the president would continue his push for Congress to eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability and to implement universal background checks.