Republicans who control the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday expelled two young Black lawmakers who last week led protesters into the well of the House floor, while a resolution to remove a white representative came up one vote short.
The vice president met with the three targeted lawmakers as national Democrats have used the expulsions as a rallying cry for gun violence prevention and racial equality.
Democrats are also pushing back against the way Republicans have exercised their power in Tennessee and other states where they hold overwhelming majorities in the legislatures.
The Republicans ousted Justin Pearson, 28, of Memphis, and Justin Jones, 27, from the Nashville area. Fellow Representative Gloria Johnson, 60, who joined them in the protest but unlike the other two refrained from using a megaphone, was spared.
They staged the protest for gun reforms following the March 27 shooting at a Nashville school that killed three 9-year-old…
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