Tennessee just passed new redistricting maps that eliminate a racist district in Memphis, meaning the state may now election all Republicans in the fall.
Here’s the news:
Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday passed a GOP-friendly map that carves up the state’s only majority-Black House seat and threatens the lone Democrat in the Volunteer State’s nine-member congressional delegation.
The Tennessee House and Senate approved the new map on Thursday after first voting to repeal the state’s 56-year prohibition on mid-decade redistricting, a necessary step before lawmakers could move forward with the proposal.
The new map splits Rep. Steve Cohen’s (D-Tenn.) Memphis-based 9th Congressional District — the state’s only majority-Black district — into three congressional districts, while further dividing Nashville into five.
The House passed the map in a 64-25 vote, with three Republicans abstaining. The Senate later passed the measure, 25-5, largely along party lines.
The bills now head to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) desk for his signature.
The governor called this week’s special session amid President Trump’s renewed push for Republican-led states to move forward with mid-decade redistricting ahead of November’s midterms.
As the House voted on the maps, chaos erupted in the chamber, with screams and chants pouring down from the gallery, as one member pulled out an air horn. Democrats linked arms and walked out after the bills passed.
In the Senate — which took up the map shortly thereafter — shouting from outside the chamber drowned out debate, compelling the Democratic leader to ask protesters to remain quiet so she could get answers about the legislation. As debate continued throughout the morning and early afternoon, cheers for Democrats and jeers for Republicans continued outside the chamber.
As the Senate moved toward a final vote, Democrats began chanting, “Hands off Memphis,” before the chamber cut off the audio feed. The Democrats, dressed mostly in white, gathered at the front of the dais, as Sen. Charlane Oliver (D), who represents Nashville, stood on her desk and unfurled a sign, reading, “No Jim Crow 2.0. Stop the TN Steal.”
At the heart of the disagreement is whether race played a role in drawing the districts under the new GOP-friendly proposal.
Republicans repeatedly insisted the map was drawn to favor their party in November’s elections and did not take race into account. Democrats countered that dividing up Memphis — the country’s second largest majority-Black city by population — effectively deprives the community of representation in Congress.
Of course, Democrats are livid and are creating chaos at the Capitol. Below is the leftist Democrat Rep. Justin Pearson getting into a heated confrontation with law enforcement trying to keep order:
What an absolute hooligan a-hole.