Vice President Kamala Harris to meet with expelled Black lawmakers as backlash to Tennessee Three episode grows

Vice President Kamala Harris Friday was set to meet with the two Black Tennessee state lawmakers who were expelled by Republicans over relatively minor rules violations during a protest demanding stronger gun control in wake of the deadly massacre at the Covenant School.

The nation’s first Black vice president planned to fly to Nashville to support Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) the day after they were booted from their posts by GOP colleagues, who hold an iron grip on the state legislature.

“(Harris) wants to make sure that these young people’s voices are heard,” a White House official told USA Today. “In the face of a very tragic event, they want action.”

The surprise trip came as the Congressional Black Caucus asked the federal Justice Department to investigate whether the virtually unprecedented action violates civil rights laws — especially since a white colleague was spared expulsion.

Brooklyn Rep. Yvette Clarke, the No. 2 leader in the caucus, vowed to support the so-called #TennesseeThree as they push for a swift return to their elected posts.

“Silencing the voices of two Black members for peacefully protesting gun violence is not only racist but also a radical shift away from the democratic rules & traditions our nation was founded upon,” Clarke said in a tweet.

The three lawmakers earlier this week joined an unauthorized protest on the floor of the legislative chamber to demand action on gun violence in wake of the shootings at the Covenant School in Nashville. Three children and three school staffers were killed when a heavily armed young woman stormed the Christian school on March 27.

CBC chair Rep. Steve Horsford (D-Nevada) excoriated Tennessee Republicans for taking the harsh action, which nationwide has generally only been imposed on lawmakers who have violated criminal laws or admit to corruption or sexual transgressions related to their posts.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton raised the political temperature by asserting that the peaceful, if disruptive, protest of the Nashville school shootings was “worse depending on the way you look at it” than the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Under Tennessee law, Pearson and Jones, the youngest Black members of the state legislature, could be returned to their positions immediately by their local municipal councils pending a future special election.

“See you Monday,” Jones said Thursday, expressing confidence the Nashville Metro Council will back him.

It’s possible the Republican-dominated legislature, bolstered by extreme gerrymanderring that has given them a virtually unassailable supermajority, could refuse to seat them, a move that could lead to a wider political dispute.

During the protest, hundreds of gun control advocates packed the Capitol calling for gun control measures in response to the Nashville school shooting that resulted in the deaths of six people. As the chants echoed throughout the Capitol, Jones, Johnson and Pearson approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn. The three shared the bullhorn and cheered on the crowd.

Democrats want new restrictions on assault weapons like the ones used by the Nashville school shooter and in the vast majority of recent mass shootings.

“(The vice president) wants to make sure that these young people’s voices are heard,” a White House official said. “In the face of a very tragic event, they want action.”arming teachers or bolstering security could prevent attacks on schools.

— An Associated Press wire report is included in this story.