Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton has ordered the removal of Democratic lawmakers from all standing committees and subcommittees in the Tennessee House.
The move comes following heated protests and disruptions during last week’s redistricting debates.
In a letter dated May 12 and addressed to Democratic leader Karen Camper, Sexton accused members of the Democratic caucus of attempting to disrupt legislative proceedings during the Second Extraordinary Session of the 114th General Assembly.
“Due to actions taken by members of the Democratic Caucus during the Second Extraordinary Session of the 114th General Assembly aimed at disrupting the democratic and legislative processes and creating disorder on the House Floor,” Sexton wrote, Democratic lawmakers would receive individual letters removing them from committees and subcommittees.
Tennessee GOP cracks down on Democrats
The Tennessee House speaker listed several actions he said justified the punishment, including “interlocking arms in the well of the House”, “blocking aisles on the House Floor”, and “instigating and encouraging disruptions of the legislative process in coordination with paid protestors and attendees in the gallery”.
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Sexton also accused Democrats of using prohibited props and noisemakers and showing “flagrant disregard for the Permanent Rules of Order of the House”.
The letter stated that Democrats would only retain committee assignments where membership is specifically required under House rules.
The disciplinary action followed days of intense political conflict over a Republican-backed redistricting plan that dismantled Tennessee’s only majority-Democratic and Black-majority congressional district centered in Memphis.
Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the Tennessee legislature, approved maps that divide Memphis into three separate congressional districts, all leaning Republican.
Governor Bill Lee later signed the plan into law.
The measure immediately triggered legal challenges. The NAACP Tennessee State Conference filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court arguing that the redistricting process violated both the Tennessee constitution and state law.
According to reports from the legislative debates, Democrats delivered fiery speeches opposing the redistricting plan and repeatedly invoked the historical struggles of Black Tennesseans to secure voting rights.
Republican lawmakers largely remained silent during the debates except for the bill’s sponsors.
The redistricting battle unfolded just days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Callais v Landry, a decision that invalidated major portions of the Voting Rights Act previously used to challenge district maps that disadvantaged Black voters.
The new Tennessee map divides Memphis’ Black voting population almost evenly into three districts stretching into suburban and rural Republican-leaning regions.
During debate on the House floor, Democratic state representative Vincent Dixie questioned the Republican effort.
“If Republican policies are so great, why are we changing the lines to rig elections?” Dixie said. “Where is your humanity in this?”
Chaos erupts during redistricting debate
As tensions escalated during the proceedings, Sexton reportedly ordered state troopers to remove members of the audience from the gallery after disruptions broke out.
Democratic lawmaker Justin Jones sharply criticised Sexton during the debate, referring to him as the “grand wizard in chief” and accusing Republican leaders of using a “Jim Crow process”.
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Jones also attempted to introduce amendments to the redistricting bill, but Sexton ruled they had been submitted too late.
Republicans defended the redistricting effort by arguing the maps were drawn for political reasons rather than racial considerations.
Lawmakers backing the proposal said the changes were intended to help Republicans gain another congressional seat aligned with former President Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
The political fallout from the new district map is already reshaping Tennessee politics.
Republican state Representative Todd Warner announced he would run for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District seat, setting up a Republican primary contest with state Senator Brent Taylor.
Warner described himself as “a Tennessee fighter” and criticised political insiders in announcing his campaign.
“I’m not a politician picked by insiders, consultants and lobbyists,” Warner said in a statement.
“I’m running for the people who feel like nobody in Washington fights for them anymore.”
Taylor, meanwhile, said he was running to “stand with Trump and cement Tennessee’s conservative legacy for generations to come.”
The new 9th Congressional District now stretches from south Memphis across southern Tennessee before turning north into other counties.
Three lawsuits have been filed challenging the legality of the congressional map.
Democrats are also seeking a temporary restraining order before Tennessee’s newly adopted May 15 candidate qualifying deadline takes effect.
