Why the Tennessee Democrats who were just expelled by the GOP will likely return soon
Tennessee's Republican-dominated state House voted to expel two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday for participating in a protest in favor of gun safety legislation on the chamber floor, though a third legislator was unexpectedly spared the same fate. It's likely, however, the two ejected members won't be gone very long.
On nearly party-line votes, Republicans removed Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the House for violating rules on decorum last week after they led visitors in the gallery in a chant of "gun reform now" following a school shooting in Nashville that left three children and three adults dead. However, Rep. Gloria Johnson retained her post after Republicans fell one vote short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to expel her, though all three representatives had previously been stripped of their committee assignments.