Nashville council votes to reinstate Justin Jones following expulsion from Tennessee House
The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously on Monday evening to reinstate Justin Jones, one of the Democratic lawmakers expelled from the Tennessee House last week.
The Republican-controlled House expelled Jones and another lawmaker, Justin Pearson, after they participated in a gun-control protest on the House floor following the deadly mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. The motion to expel a third Democrat, state Rep. Gloria Johnson, failed. Jones and Pearson are both Black, while Johnson is white.
Jones is in his seat again on an interim basis, and on Wednesday, the Shelby County Commission is expected to vote on whether to reappoint Pearson. Special elections will be held to fill their seats, and Jones and Pearson have both said they will run.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ahead of the Nashville Metropolitan Council's special session on Monday, hundreds of people gathered outside the chambers in support of Jones, with some carrying signs that read "No Justin No Peace." Tennessee state Sen. London Lamar (D) told The Washington Post that in "an attempt to be malicious," Republicans have "created two political megastars who have now made history. I think now it is going to be hard for the Tennessee GOP to continue their covert and overt racism tactics because now the whole nation is watching."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How Manchesterism could change the UKThe Explainer The idea involves shifting a centralized government to more local powers
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
