Tennessee Democrat State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville), Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), and Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) will visit the White House on Monday, the Biden administration announced this week.
Jones, Pearson, and Johnson have been dubbed the “Tennessee Three” by Democrats.
.@POTUS looks forward to welcoming Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson to the White House this coming Monday. pic.twitter.com/1oqrDRA31s
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) April 19, 2023
“I am pleased to share that the president looks forward to welcoming Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson to the White House this coming Monday,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated during Wednesday’s press briefing.
“Earlier this month, the president spoke to them by phone after they were subjected to expulsion votes in the Tennessee State House for peacefully protesting in support of stronger gun safety laws following the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. During that call, the president thanked them for their leadership in seeking to ban assault weapons and standing up for the democratic values,” Jean-Pierre continued.
“The three lawmakers thanked the president for his leadership on gun safety and for spotlighting the undemocratic and unprecedented attacks on them in the Tennessee State House. The president looks forward to continuing that discussion when they all meet with him on Monday,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jones and Pearson were expelled earlier this month after they, along with Johnson, commandeered the House Floor to demand gun control in the wake of the Covenant Presbyterian School shooting three days prior.
Jones and Pearson were reinstated to their positions last week by the Nashville Metro City Council and Shelby County Commission on an interim basis, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
On the same day that Jones and Pearson were expelled, they voted, along with Johnson, against House Bill 0322 – a school safety bill that overwhelmingly passed the legislative body, as also previously reported by The Star.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson” by Justin Jones.
